CITY TRIBUNE
Bus growth in Galway to slow down due to lack of priority lanes
Only 10% of Galway City’s roads are dedicated bus lanes, which is causing a “serious deterioration” in Bus Éireann’s ability to fulfil its timetables.
Regional Manager Brian Connolly said that the company had become a victim of its own success – it was now increasingly unable to meet a growing demand, as the necessary infrastructure is not being provided.
“There are constant improvements coming into the network but, without priority measures, we are in danger of just having an increased level of resources caught up in the same traffic,” he said.
The Galway City bus network received a major overhaul in 2012 which, the figures show, has been a significant success story.
“Passenger journeys are up 50% which, in public transport terms, is a massive improvement in such a short space of time. Here in Galway City, we have the most efficient, punctual and effective city network in the country. So much so, that Dublin Bus were asked by the NTA (National Transport Authority) to come down and talk to us, to see what we were doing right.”
Mr Connolly says that the Doughiska route, which goes from Eyre Square to Parkmore, is the most successful one in the city – for a very obvious reason.
“One of the critical elements of this service is the level of bus priority on that route, particularly on the Dublin Road – we have bus lanes in and out bound, to the extent that it covers 25% of that route.
“Also, on the 405 Rahoon to Eyre Square and out to Ballybane, the Seamus Quirke Road has significant priority measures. That’s where we are seeing significant growth, so it just goes to demonstrate that when the priority measures are put in place, it improves the reliability, and punctuality. People are more or less guaranteed journey times, and that increases usage, which has been the recipe for success.”
However, the growth is being stifled by the lack of infrastructure, he added.
“The Bus Éireann network in Galway has only 10% bus lanes throughout the whole city, the other side of that is that on 90% of the network we are sharing the same road space as all of the other traffic. As congestion has worsened over the past six to 12 months, we are finding it increasingly difficult to achieve our timetables.
“We have to give over a little bit of road space to public transport, that’s not going to be agreeable to everyone involved, but if we want to ensure that the city moves more freely, and more people are using public transport, those are the sacrifices that have to be made.”
He said that the one-way traffic flow along Lough Atalia/College Road, which was in operation while works on lowering the road under the railway bridge were taking place, had proved to be “one of most significant improvements” for all bus operators coming in and out of the city.
“It was something that worked very well from our point of view, and is something that is being considered in the transport strategy, and we would be encouraging to continue with.”
In the medium term, Bus Éireann hopes that the ‘Luas on wheels’ or BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) will become a reality for the city, while it grows to a position where light rail will be a viable option.
The ‘bendy buses’ are a regular feature in European cities, and they are something that Bus Éireann has been looking at for over 10 years.
“Each stop should become a mini station. The vehicle itself can resemble a Luas, except it’s on tyres.
“If people still want to go for a light rail solution after that, at least you have proven the concept at a fraction of the cost to invest in light rail.
“You know it works, and then you can make a judgement whether or not to make that investment.”
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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