Connacht Tribune
Call for pedestrianisation of Loughrea to be examined
Pedestrianisation of Loughrea town should be examined as part of a major traffic management plan, insists one local councillor.
On-street parking as well as the flow of vehicles through the town was just not working, according to Cllr Shane Donnellan (FF).
When the lights went out of order at the Westbridge last weekend, traffic was not backed up for several miles as it usually did on Friday evening, Cllr Michael ‘Moegie’ Maher, argued. He asked Galway County Council officials to consider removing the pedestrianised lights at this location.
Cllr Donnellan stated that while there was no queue for cars when the lights cut out pedestrians complained that they could not cross the road.
“Loughrea needs a traffic management plan. Westbridge and Main street are major problems. Traffic could flow better. I don’t think traffic is working as good as it should be. It’s a big project but it would be worth doing,” he stated.
Acting Senior Executive Engineer Enda Gallagher said Westbridge was a very restricted junction with many roads leading off it so the removal of lights would pose a major hazard for pedestrians.
The lights were operating on a loop detection system so were operating as efficiently as possible. There were a large number of residential estates on the Dublin Road which needed to access the town from this location.
He stated there was no funding for traffic management plans.
Cllr Donnellan retorted that money had been allocated in the last budget for traffic management plans for Clarenbridge, Kinvara and Loughrea in the 2018 budget and it was now time to implement them.
“The last one [in Loughrea] was in the ‘90s. Things have changed a lot, the system has changed a lot, the town has changed a lot but we’re not moving with the times. The parking system on the main street is not working,” he argued.
“When buses come into town the bays are full, wardens are constantly moving people on but they can’t be there constantly. Vans need to deliver but the loading bays are full. We have a constant problem. We need to move on it. We can’t keep putting it off. There may be certain streets that need to be pedestrianised in the town.”
Director of Services for Infrastructure and Operations, Jim Cullen, said the provision made in the last budget for traffic management plans was a small amount – up to €30,000 – which was for minor works that needed urgent attention.
“Councillors are looking for management plans for Clarenbridge, Oranmore, Kinvara, Gort and Loughrea. It was the early 2000s when the last traffic management plan was drawn up and we were advocating for a one-way system,” said Mr Cullen.
“I agree the town could be greatly enhanced by a radical traffic plan, including pedestrianisation. I can’t stress enough the level of objections when they precisely tried to implement that.”
He pointed out that it would cost a couple of hundred thousand euro to implement changes in a traffic management plan which the Council did not have to spend.
“Oranmore is in dire need, Kinvara has become awfully busy, Gort as well – so all in need of traffic management plans.”
Cathaoirleach of the Loughrea Municipal District, Cllr Joe Byrne, asked the Council to investigate whether the old FCA barracks owned by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in the centre of Gort could be turned into a car park to accommodate 30 vehicles.
The Fine Gael Councillor said Kinvara also badly needed parking. The only piece of land available in the seaside village which could be used for a public car park was at the back of the square and was owned by four people, three of whom would support its creation.
Mr Mulryan said he would look into both sites further.
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.
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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.
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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
