Papers have been filed at the High Court seeking leave for a judicial review of the An Coimisiún Pleanála approval of the Gort Town Centre Public Realm Enhancement Project. Shane Foran, an active travel advocate, is taking the case which also involves a challenge to the Minister for Transport over disputed road design guidance. The scheme was approved in January and involves changes to roads around Gort town centre.
The roads affected by proposed works, Crowe St, Bridge St, George St, Market Square and Church St represent the main traffic routes through Gort – including for cyclists. Some affected roads lie on the only route between the main body of the town and obvious cycling destinations such as the train station, the town’s only secondary school (Gort Community school ), a gaelscoil, a community playground, a soccer club and a leisure centre housing the town’s only swimming pool. Other affected roads (Church St/Market Square ) are on the main route to the national school at Tubber Rd and the adjacent rugby club.
Mr Foran told the Advertiser that the case centres on traffic impacts and alleged deficiencies in the proposed road designs and on alleged negative impacts for people cycling in or through Gort.
“The roads are proposed to have footpath widening leaving narrower traffic lanes that are only 3.2 m wide. At Bridge St the designers propose 2 m wide continuous flower bed/rain garden features along with footpaths that are 4-5 m wide. No cycling facilities are proposed in the scheme apart from some ramps onto a proposed new roundabout at Market Square.
“The traffic lanes are to be 3.2 m, the design width of a standard bus or HGV is 2.6m, leaving 30 cm on either side for a person on a bicycle. The implication being that road space is being removed in a way that will cause cyclists and heavy vehicles to block each other. In his submissions to the scheme and to the high court Mr. Foran has pointed out that along much of the scheme there is apparently adequate width to have footpaths of the required standard (2m ) and also traffic lanes wide enough for both heavy vehicles and cyclists or even cycling separate facilities.
“Under the Gort Public Realm Proposals, cyclists and heavy traffic are theoretically to be expected to share artificially narrowed traffic lanes on a corridor carrying up to 1,200 vehicles an hour to or from the M18 motorway. No cycle facilities are proposed and under current guidance the threshold for providing cycling facilities is 400 vehicles an hour,” he said.
Mr Foran has alleged that the Gort Public Realm proposals are irrational, unreasonable and inconsistent with the requirements of the Climate Change Act and associated Climate Action Plans. In 2021 the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications strengthened the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment ) Act. Under the associated climate action plans government agencies are committed to promoting active travel.
