CITY TRIBUNE
‘Back’ Promenade and Doughiska among locations to benefit from new scheme
Lighting at 28 locations across the city is being replaced by LED lights to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency.
Galway City Council has a total of 9,260 public lights throughout the city. Under the current programme which began last year, some 2,239 lanterns have been earmarked for replacement.
It has set a target of delivering energy savings of between 50 and 60 per cent by upgrading public lighting to LED with schemes set to pay for themselves between eight and 12 years as a result of the energy cost savings.
Among the areas that have been done or are on track to be completed are Salthill Promenade, Coolagh Roundabout, Doughiska, Tur Uisce and An Fiodan.
The most decorative lanterns are earmarked for Salthill, where 89 of the stylish lamps will be replaced because parts are no longer available – this process is already underway.
With an energy saving of 61% compare to the existing lamps, the Council estimates it will save over €6,000 a year in energy costs, with a project payback within 12 years.
“The works at South Park and the walkway from Blackrock behind Galway Golf Club has yet to begin. We are still awaiting parts to be delivered in advance of works commencing,” said a Council spokesman.
“The low-level lighting will be installed as soon as possible and when working will automatically switch off each night at midnight.”
A detailed infrastructure survey of 25 estates which was carried out last year found that 22 of the estates require remedial works before being upgraded to LED.
The average cost of that work is €4,500.
As well as reducing lighting and maintenance costs, the LED lighting reduces carbon emissions, the number and severity of night time road accidents and street crime.
It also increases evening activity and promotes the “evening economy” and helps emergency services and Gardaí through clearer footage from CCTV.
City West area ccouncillor, Donal Lyons, said he was thrilled to see the installation of public lighting along the ‘back Prom’ is nearly complete.
“This is an issue which I have been campaigning for, for some time; to provide public lighting in South Park and from Blackrock to the caravan park. Over the years, I was successful in including funding in the Galway City Council Annual Budget for the provision of the public lighting.
“When there was flooding damage to the back Prom a number of years ago, I requested at the time that the provision of ducting would be included in the repairs being carried out. The inclusion of this ducting has been of great assistance in the overall installation of the lights now being installed.
“I believe that the installation of the lighting along this part of the Promenade will enhance the amenity aspect of the Promenade and lead to its further use during the winter months.
“Last year the Government provided funding for walking and cycling initiatives as part of the Government’s July Stimulus Plan which was designed to stimulate a jobs-led recovery and build economic confidence in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
“The Government funding together with the funding set aside by Galway City Council ensured that the project is now being completed,” said Cllr Lyons.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
The new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge will be officially opened to the public next Friday, May 26.
Work on the €10 million bridge got underway in April 2022, before the main structure was hoisted into place in early December.
A lunchtime tape-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, as the first pedestrians and cyclists traverse the as-yet-unnamed bridge.
The Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, previously said the bridge, once opened, would remove existing conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic “as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200-year-old bridge”.
The naming of the new bridge has been under discussion by the Council’s Civic Commemorations Committee since late last year.
One name that has been in the mix for some time is that of the first woman in Europe to graduate with an engineering degree – Alice Perry.
Ms Perry, who was from Wellpark, graduated from Queen’s College Galway (now University of Galway) in 1906. The university’s engineering building is named in her honour.
The bridge was built by Jons Civil Engineering firm in County Meath and was assembled off-site before being transported to Galway. Funding for the project was provided in full by the National Transport Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
(Photo: Sheila Gallagher captured the city’s new pedestrian footbridge being raised on the south side of the Salmon Weir Bridge in December. It will officially open next Friday, May 26).
From the Galway City Tribune – Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell was labelled a “disgrace” for overturning councillors’ decisions to rezone land in the new City Development Plan.
Minister O’Donnell (pictured) confirmed in a letter to Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath last week that he was reversing 25 material alternations made by councillors to the CDP 2023-29. He made the decision on the advice of Office of Planning Regulator (OPR).
Minister O’Donnell directed that 14 land parcels that were subject to land-use zoning changes by councillors as part of the Material Alterations to the Draft CDP should be reversed.
He directed that a further 11 land parcels in the city should become “unzoned”.
The Minister found that the CDP had not been made in a manner consistent with recommendations of the OPR, which required specific changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the national planning laws and guidelines.
At last week’s Council meeting Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) asked for clarity on the process by which councillors could rezone the lands that had been changed by the Minister’s direction.
Cllr Declan McDonnell said, “What he [Minister O’Donnell] has done is an absolute disgrace”.
And he asked: “Do we have to have another development plan meeting to deal with it?”
Both Cllrs Hoare and McDonnell wondered what would become of the lands that were rezoned or unzoned by the ministerial direction.
Mr McGrath said the Council had put forward an argument in favour of retaining the material alterations in the plan, but ultimately the Minister sided with OPR.
He said if councillors want to make alterations to the new plan, they could go through the process of making a material alteration but this was lengthy.
The Save Roscam Peninsula campaign welcomed the Minister’s decision.
In a statement to the Galway City Tribune, it said the direction would mean the Roscam village area on the Roscam Peninsula will be unzoned and a number of land parcels would revert back to agriculture/high amenity.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “the material alterations made by city councillors following lobbying by developers continued the long-standing practice of councillors facilitating a developer-led plan rather than an evidence- and policy-based plan that meets the needs of the city.
“The Minister’s direction is an important step in restoring confidence in the planning system. It is clear from the City Council’s own evidence on future housing projections that there was no requirement to zone these lands for residential purposes in order to meet the needs of the targeted population increase up to 2029,” the spokesperson added.
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