Galway NGOs To Lobby Irish Transport Minister On 'Smarter Travel' Funding for Galway City

Window of Opportunity Now Exists to Put in Place a Pedestrian, Cycling & Public Transport Infrastructure for Galway City & End Car-Centred Roads Nightmare

A shorter version of the following article (written in my capacity as a Galway City Community Forum representative) appeared recently on the front page of the Galway City Tribune...

In an attempt to help solve Galway City’s growing traffic congestion and secure major state funding for the construction of a sustainable transport infrastructure, the Galway City Community Forum requested direct talks with the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey TD requesting on the issue.

According to Brendan Smith, a member of the Forum’s steering committee, “The quality of life in our city is being seriously eroded by the environmental, social, economic and health damage caused by over-reliance on private motorised vehicles as the primary mode of transport. Decades of bad planning in our developer-driven society has created a car dependency urban sprawl that will take at least a generation to rectify.
But there is now a window of opportunity being presented by the Government’s recent action plan entitled ‘ Smarter Travel – A Sustainable Transport Future’ which promises for the first time to put people rather than vehicles first with a firm commitment to invest in walking, cycling and public transport as primary modes of transport. The relevant government ministers have talked about giving funding priority to suitable applicant cities. So the onus is now on all local sectors of Galway society to lobby to ensure that it is our city that is a chosen urban location for this crucial state investment. Hence our decision to request an urgent meeting with the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey on this issue to convince him of the suitability of Galway for this investment and the benefits that it would bring to its inhabitants. We will also be meeting with local politicians and local election candidates to discuss our sustainable transport policies. For since its inception in 2000, Galway City Community Forum has played a crucial part in transforming city transport policy though its active membership of relevant partnership committees and we were for instance amongst the earliest advocates of light rail and quality bus corridors. However we are very concerned that key elements of these policies are being ignored. In early 2002, Galway City Council was a signatory to the Galway City Development Strategy that promised to make Galway a Safe, Child-friendly, Disability-friendly, Pedestrian-friendly, Cyclist-friendly City by 2012. It was agreed by all partners that one way of achieving this core objective was by carrying out a feasibility study into the development of a sustainable Galway Integrated Transport Strategy where pedestrians would be given priority in roads infrastructure followed by cyclists, then public transport users with car-users being at the lowest end of the hierarchy.
Yet seven years on, City Hall as the lead partner has still not carried out this foundation blueprint. Whilst initiatives such as Walking to School programme are to be applauded, nevertheless they will ultimately fail if the roads infrastructure is not radically altered to accommodate the safe ‘free-flow’ of pedestrians and cyclists. Sadly, the latest published programme of works from the Galway Transportation Unit (GTU) seems to belong to a discredited era as it once again gives priority to the old outmoded system of more roads for more cars through its emphasis on prioritising the construction of an Outer Bypass. It talks too of ‘improving’ cycling infrastructure, when in fact there is no city-wide infrastructure to being with. Likewise it makes no significant mention of pedestrians.
So the Forum is now publicly calling on City Hall to honour its transport commitments as signed off in 2002 which are supposed to be completed by 2012.
One way for City Council to make up for lost time and lost ground would be by immediately requesting the Irish government to consider Galway as a pilot scheme for the government’s Smarter Travel Action Plan as well as applying for funding under the EU CIVITAS programme. Whilst our university city is at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of providing a pedestrian-cycling infrastructure to that of comparable cities such as Oxford or Cambridge, nevertheless there is still a critical mass of local inhabitants that use transport alternatives to the private car and many others that could be enticed out of their cars should a safe suitable environment exist.

Time for the City Council to Fulfill its Election Promises on Developing a Sustainable Transport Infrastructure

At last! – my neighbourhood can this week rejoice as City Hall contractors began work yesterday on installing a permanent pedestrian crossing and associated traffic-calming devices on the Headford Road opposite Tirellan school. One of the busiest city roadways has for too many years denied safe access to pedestrians and turned the once simple pleasure of walking to the local shop or to school into a death defying exercise!


A Lollipop Lady is on hand at certain times during weekdays to help children cross to and from the school. But that is only for a few hours per day during school term.
So I am frustrated that it has taken so long to reach the construction stage.
I have been leading a residents’ campaign for such a pedestrian facility since 2002. In 2003, we persuaded the roads section of Galway City Council to officially recommend its installation. In 2004 funds were allocated for its construction. However two school years have passed since then. Thankfully though no serious road accident occurred involving pupils walking to this school.
In recent discussions with City Hall, we were also promised that a permanent pedestrian crossing is also now being considered for Bothar na Traobh near the Kirwan Roundabout. But that may take years to materialise (if ever)?
Yet our aims goes much deeper that just securing a once-off crossing. We want the installation of permanent pedestrian crossings on all roads leading onto all city roundabouts in order to facilitate uninterrupted pedestrian flow.

Council’s Roadside Failure
So we are alarmed that this City Council, now in its third year in office, has made no progress whatsoever in this area. For remember, this was the council comprising young new faces with fresh ideas, many from new political parties that promised so much when it was elected in June 2004. It was to herald a new dawn for the people of Galway.
Alas, the councillors' election promises on many critical issues such as transport have still to be delivered. One of the basic tenets of the Galway City Development Board Strategy (which I helped produce) adopted in 2002 is that the city will become ‘pedestrian-friendly, cycling-friendly, disability-friendly and child-friendly’.
The councillors collectively should be ashamed of themselves that they have failed to face up to the ‘roundabouts’ issue and have failed to put in place the basic city-wide infrastructure required to facilitate pedestrian and cyclist flow in Galway’s suburbs. The traffic nightmare that they all promised to prioritise has got progressively worse since they took up office. It is now too dangerous for most residents to contemplate alternatives to car transport even for short journeys to shops, schools or places of worship. This has led to the almost complete extinction of bicycles from the school grounds whereas just over twenty years ago, 30% of pupils cycled.