The Salthill cycleway: where it stands

Cycle the Prom today and you share the road with parked cars on one side and traffic on the other. Campaigners describe being doored as routine. A temporary cycleway was meant to fix that in 2022. It never arrived, and a permanent one is back on the agenda now.

What happened in 2022

In September 2021 councillors voted 17 to 1 for a temporary segregated lane along the promenade. The council published two options: a two-way lane on the sea side from the Grattan Road junction to Blackrock Tower, and a one-way outbound lane from Blackrock on to the Knocknacarra Road junction. Public consultation drew over 7,000 responses, and officials reported 63 per cent opposed both options. In February 2022, after a four-hour meeting that heard of threats against councillors and the chief executive, the resolution was revoked 13 to 4. Cllr Peter Keane called it “the single most divisive issue which we have dealt with in Galway City Council”.

What is on the table now

By February 2026 the council was preparing a Salthill Village and Seafront Framework Plan, reported to have broad support from stakeholders including the Village Group of local businesses, who say they were never against a cycleway as such. The route under discussion runs from Blackrock to the Spanish Arch, and would link to the planned Connemara greenway at the University and to the Galway to Athlone cycleway. The plan was due to be unveiled in March 2026.

In the meantime

After Storm Buelo on 24 October the council closed the promenade between the D’Arcy roundabout and Galway Business School until further notice. Check Useful Info before you head out. If you walk it, our Salthill Promenade route has the detail.