Mayhem on Galway’s roads biggest ‘blocker’ of economic growth

The city’s future as a premier location for industry and business is being threatened by the worsening traffic chaos, with Galway losing out on millions of euro in new projects and extra jobs, it was warned this week.

Former Aer Arann chief and current Senator, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, told the Galway City Tribune that the city and region had already paid a high price in terms of lost economic opportunity because people ‘couldn’t get in and out of the place.’

“The message is the same from everyone who looks at Galway as a location for enterprise. It is a great city with a highly skilled and educated workforce available; it is a great city to live in, but it’s just impossible to get around,” said Senator Ó Céidigh.

He said that not alone was Galway city and the region going to pay a high price into the future for this transport logjam – it had already done so over recent years in terms of reputational damage and lost opportunities.

“Make no mistake about it. The traffic chaos and lack of transport planning in Galway city and its environs, is the biggest single ‘blocker’ of economic growth both in the urban area and the region.

“We are the third biggest city in the country and yet we missed the boat completely. Of course, the city bypass won’t solve all our problems but it would have been a big help in terms of taking through-traffic out of the urban area,” said Senator Ó Céidigh.
To read the rest of this article, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week’s paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.