Minister urges ‘patience’ over city traffic

The Government Minister with responsibility for public transport has urged hard-pressed commuters to show some patience with Galway City Council as the local authority attempts to deal with the city’s chronic traffic congestion problems.

Speaking during the launch of the new public bike scheme this week, Minister of State Alan Kelly said he was aware of the extent of the congestion problems in Galway which are bringing traffic to a standstill at peak times.

He pointed to the new urban traffic management centre at City Hall, the revamp of Ceannt Station, the conversion of roundabouts into signalised junctions, new bus lanes, and new commuter train routes as initiatives which will help get the city moving in the long-term.

Minister Kelly said the new urban traffic management system had helped with the flow of traffic during the peak summer festival season, when good weather brought a significant increase in the number of visitors to the city.

“People need to bear with us. There is a plan there. The traffic management plan in Galway is state-of-the-art. I have seen it. It’s phenomenal. I have personally supported it and I will be supporting it in the coming years,” he told the Galway City Tribune.

But he said there was also an onus on city commuters to change their travel patterns, to ensure there were fewer single-occupancy vehicles on the roads.

He said congestion had always been an issue in a city which had a network of narrow, medieval streets, but he felt some progress was being made and the urban traffic management centre allowed the City Council to control the flow of traffic at junctions at peak times.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.