Tuam greenway plan runs foul of rail corridor backers

By TONY GALVIN A PROPOSAL to build a Greenway cycle path from Tuam along part of the disused rail line has been unceremoniously binned by a Co Council committee charged with developing cycling and walking routes around the county. The proposal came from Energise Tuam which is acting as an umbrella organisation for bodies such as Tuam Tidy Towns committee and looking at ways to enhance the local area by making it more attractive for recreational activities. The group feels it will be many years, if ever, before the reopening of the rail line between Claremorris and Athenry, linking Tuam to the national network, can be considered again. They argue that sections of the line should be transformed into a Greenway to encourage cycling and walking tourism in the area and encourage people to take healthy outdoor exercise.[private] However, the West on Track campaign group feels strongly that any development of parts of the closed route as a public recreational amenity would jeopardise their hopes of getting rail corridor reopened. Tuam Area Cllr Michael Connolly, a strong supporter of the West on Track campaign, sits on the Galway Co Council committee which binned the Energise Tuam's Greenway proposa. Hel is unapologetic. He told The Herald that there was no way he could support the proposal when hopes were still very much alive of getting the rail line reopened. He admitted that the plan had been binned by the Co Council committee assessing recommendations for the county's Walking and Cycling Strategy Report and said he made no apology for this. On the question of why Energise Tuam were not even informed that their plan was being rejected, Cllr Connolly simply stated that this was how committees worked. He added that he was sure Energise Tuam's other proposals would get the attention they deserved. Chairman of Tuam Tidy Towns committee Pat Fahy described the council's treatement of Energise Tuam as 'an insult to the town'. Urban cycling route Further proposals submitted by Energise Tuam include a new urban cycling route around the town, including one along the course of the River Nanny, cycling links between the schools and a major new plan to make the Square pedestrian and cyclist friendly. Energise Tuam chairman Alan McGrath says their other proposals seem to be lost in some 'bureaucratic limbo' and only appear in the indices of the County Cycling and Walking Strategy Report, and not in the actual report itself. Activists are incensed that their Greenway submission was deleted from the report without anyone informing them of what had been done. They only found out by chance when a member was in conversation with an official about an unrelated matter. Now they are hurriedly re-submitting their proposal in an effort to meet a January 17 deadline (this Thursday). Alan McGrath told The Herald they were aghast to discover that not only had their Greenway proposal been 'whitewashed' out of existence but the other positive proposals don't seem to have got much attention either. 'We are astonished that no one even bothered to pick up the phone and let us know our proposals were being binned by a committee at County Hall. 'What is the point in asking communities to make proposals, encouraging them to spend time and effort drawing them up only to have them dumped unceremoniously by some anonymous committee. We are disgusted by this behaviour and intend to fight it all the way. We will resubmit our proposals and at least demand we are dealt with with the common courtesy any public spirited group should expect.' He added that they were not 'anti-rail' but thought the line could be better used until such time as there was at least the possibility of it reopening. They have proposed leasing it from CIE on a ten year basis as is the case with the Greenway along the former Limerick to Tralee line, and already have explored this possibility with the company. 'We put 18 months of work and research into this and the reaction we've received is hardly encouraging for future community efforts,' Alan McGrath concluded. [/private]