City Council targets three key routes for bus priority measures

Creating thoroughfares restricted to public transport on Eglinton Street, College Road as well as the Salmon Weir Bridge will be among the preferred options presented to councillors soon as part of the Galway Transportation Strategy.

A suite of radical changes are under consideration by the Galway Transportation Unit in Galway City Council in partnership with the National Transport Authority ahead of the Galway City Ring Road (commonly referred to as ‘the bypass’).

They include a proposal that College Road inbound be restricted to residents and buses only, with all other traffic being diverted to Lough Atalia and onto Fairgreen Road.

The Council’s Senior Engineer Uinsinn Finn said it is too early to indicate which changes would emerge as the preferred ones, ahead of the unit undertaking traffic modelling to gauge the impact across all parts of the city.

But he confirmed that changing key arterial routes to give priority to buses and bicycles was pivotal to the Galway Transportation Strategy and would likely be the first to be implemented – subject to agreement with councillors.

“One of the positives of the European Car Free Day was how we saw buses flowing freely along Eglinton Street with a reduction in journey times,” Mr Finn told the Galway City Tribune.

“Making the Salmon Weir Bridge for buses and taxis only and not allowing private cars – particularly at peak times – is one of the things we’re looking at.

“Lough Atalia will likely stay two-way because we don’t want HGVs (Heavy Goods Vehicles) coming up the Fairgreen from the Port, but College Road could be prioritised as a bus route, with local access for residents and B&B occupants by way of an automatic barrier.”
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