BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

A popular local fashion retailer and homeware store has seen its business decimated over the past week, because of a cycle lane pilot scheme which the owner described as “nuts”.

The scheme at Newtownsmyth also caused traffic gridlock across the city centre, with peak-time delays of up to half-an-hour.

And it has led to a “war of words” between a well-known businessman and a senior official from Galway City Council.

The road at Newtownsmyth has been closed in one direction (from Abbeygate Street to Salmon Weir Bridge) since Monday morning to allow for a trial cycle lane as part of National Bike Week. John Curley, who owns Born Fashions and the Home Gallery in Newtownsmyth told the Galway City Tribune that if the pilot scheme continued beyond today (Friday), his business would be gone within a month.

Mr Curley complained that despite him paying annual rates of €100,000, on top of a development levy of €1m when he built the Born complex, he is being “wiped out” by the Council.

However, a Council official said that none of Mr Curley’s figures were substantiated, and added that timings taken on Wednesday afternoon show there were delays of just five to six minutes.

Businessman John Curley said: “We are being wiped out. We had no advance warning of this at all. We have been decimated this week. Business is down by two-thirds. If this cycle lane continues, I would be closing in four weeks.

“I’m absolutely furious. I spent €40m regenerating this part of town – an area that was previously just for the winos – into a beautiful development. It’s now worth €7m and then the Council come along and do this,” Mr Curley told the Galway City Tribune.

Councillor Padraig Conneely has accused Council officials of not living in the real world. “It has been absolute chaos. I was down there for more than an hour on Wednesday afternoon and I saw one bike, and it was on the footpath. The whole town is backed-up with traffic.

“The officials are not living in reality. Things are bad enough for local businesses as it is, and then they have to deal with this barmy idea. It’s incomprehensible,” said Cllr Conneely.

The City Council has apologised for the traffic chaos that was caused in the city centre this week by the scheme at Newtownsmyth.

Motorists had up to half-an-hour added to peak hour journeys because of tailbacks from Eglinton Street, along Mary Street, Upper Abbeygate Street, Market Street, Lombard Street and Bridge Street back to Dominick Street and Mill Street.
 

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune