Petition launched against proposed routes for Cong relief road

A petition opposing the proposed plans for a relief road in Cong has attracted over 370 signatures.

The petition, which is currently on the Uplift website, has voiced concern over the proposed routes for the new relief road, which aims to reduce traffic in the village, improve air and noise quality and improve accessibility and road safety.

The petition said the proposed routes have “the potential to destroy large tracts of woodland, our local countryside and the privacy and amenity of homes in the area.”

At present, up to 100 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) pass through the village every day. Located on the Galway-Mayo border, Cong also attracts traffic from thousands of tourists who visit the village annually.

The proposed relief road will be built in Mayo and Galway and is currently at Stage 1 Option Identification and Refinement.

According to the project’s official website: “Further environmental studies and site investigation are being carried out which, in conjunction with the public consultation outcome, will be used to progress the scheme through the option selection phase.”

The petition opposing the development suggests a bylaw be passed banning HGVs from the village. It also suggests that the money spent on the relief road ‘could be better spent upgrading existing road’.

“As the people of Cong, we feel the routes fail to meet the outlined objectives and needs of Cong and moving to a single candidate route at this time is extremely premature in the absence of meaningful public consultation and detailed surveying. We do not support the proposed routes and feel that other alternative options need to be explored.”

Local county councillor Damien Ryan (Fianna Fáil) told The Mayo News that further consultation was needed to obtain the ‘most sensible’ outcome.

“I think the majority of the people in Cong realise that there is a need to do something and doing nothing isn’t an option. We just need to come forward with an option that minimises impact and maximises effect and doesn’t leave anybody disenfranchised,” said Cllr Ryan.