Connacht Tribune
Coach tours cannot cope with Galway City traffic
Coach tour operators claim Galway is losing out on visitors and tourism income because of poor facilities in the city, and traffic congestion.
Joe Donoghue of Donoghue Coaches in Claregalway, and chairman of the Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC), said his organisation has been inundated with complaints from members around the country.
Among the gripes are a shortage of parking facilities, set-down and pick-up areas, as well as a lack of toilet facilities in the city, and loss of time due to the unpredictability of traffic delays.
The situation is so bad, according to Mr Donoghue, tour operators and coach companies are avoiding Galway.
“The vast majority of tour itineraries include Galway City for a one-two night stay, or a lunch stop and free time. Due to the lack of set-down and pick-up areas, and the traffic congestion going in and out of Galway at peak times and due to the time constraints on the tour itineraries, tour guides and drivers are avoiding Galway,” he said.
His concerns are shared by city centre trading groups including in the Latin Quarter, Westend Traders, Woodquay, Galway City Business Association and in the so-called East Village of Eyre Square.
Labour Party City Councillor Niall McNelis said Galway is losing out on up to 50 coaches per day during the peak season, which he estimates equates to a loss of at least €600,000 to businesses during one month of Summer.
“A quick calculation on the loss of revenue to Galway in June is €600,000 if you say 50 coaches carrying 40 tourists, each spending €10 over the 30 days. This is a conservative estimate. We need to make Galway a friendly place for coaches and tour operators to visit.
Galway City needs to use facilities either at Ceannt Station or Galway Harbour to attract more tour buses. Sligo and Ennis have developed tourist friendly parking for buses and if we do not address this issue soon we will lose out even further,” said Cllr McNelis.
He said it needs to be one of the City Council’s top priorities in 2018.
Mr Donoghue lists a number of areas of concern to his members, including that Galway Cathedral is too far away from the ‘action’ for a set-down area; buses dropping off at Eyre Square have been photographed and issued tickets in the post; the new set-down facilities at Merchant’s Road are clogged up by illegal parking; a lack of toilet facilities.
He has called on the Council to address the problems by enforcing the parking rules at Merchant’s Road and making it for coach parking only; use the pedestrianised area in front of the Skeff in Eyre Square as a set-down and pick-up area for coaches; use a vacant site at the Docks for coach parking.
He also suggested changes to the city’s traffic system to improve flows for buses and coaches.
Mr Donoghue said CTTC has linked up with Sligo Chamber of Commerce and Sligo’s local authority to offer coach-friendly initiatives that keep the tour buses coming back.
“Galway should not be left behind and lose all this potential business with a minimum of 50 to 60 coaches passing through Galway daily, especially now as we head towards Galway 2020. As a Galway businessman myself, and chairman of CTTC I would love to see Galway back on the map as a city open for coach tourism business,” he added.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
