New safety audit proposes barriers for Galway’s waterways

Erecting ‘physical barriers’ to restrict access to sections of Galway’s waterways, to help prevent accidental drownings, is one of the key recommendations of an unpublished major citywide safety audit.

Spanish Arch, Long Walk, Claddagh Basin and areas along the city’s canal network, including running parallel to Henry Street, are among the areas with exposed water edges that require the installation of protective railings, the report said.

“Restrict access along the length of the areas surveyed by installing physical barriers where necessary,” it reads.

The recommendation is among the findings of an extensive safety audit of the city’s waterways, carried out by the Long Walk-based Irish Water Safety (IWS), sections of which have been seen by Galway City Tribune.

The report was commissioned over a year ago in response to the growing number of accidental drownings and suicides at waterways.

Galway City Council called on the expertise of IWS to conduct the safety survey, after Labour Party City Councillor Niall McNelis had a notice of motion passed at a meeting.

The report was furnished to the local authority in early May but it’s findings have not been made public until now.

Cllr McNelis yesterday called on the Council to publish the report in full, including all recommendations.

“This is a matter of life and death – the sooner the report is published, the sooner we know what needs to be done and the sooner we can go about securing funding to make the waterways safe,” he said.

Cllr McNelis, a long-time campaigner for more waterway safety measures, added: “Galway City Council spends €150,000 per year on coastal water protection. Do you know how much it spends on inland water safety? Zero, nothing. That’s despite the fact that 62% of all drownings in the city are on inland waterways.”

The report highlights that a Water Safety Development Officer should be appointed in the Council as a “matter of priority”, something Cllr McNelis fully supports. “This would allow one member of staff to focus solely on water safety within the city limits,” he said.

The report does not recommend closing off all exposed waterways. Instead of “barriers or fencing” in certain areas, it endorses the painting of a ‘boundary marking’, 30 millimetres from the edge on exposed river and canal openings, which “would help discern the edge for people walking there at night”.
For the rest of this story, 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.