Pedestrianisation plan was missing one thing – a plan!

Bradley Bytes – a sort of political column with Dara Bradley

On the last two weekends of August 2019, Brendan McGrath, Chief Executive of Galway City Council gave his blessing to the Westend Traders organisation to temporarily pedestrianise Dominick Street Upper.

The street from Monroe’s to Bierhaus was cordoned off to traffic from 7pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for two successive weekends. Dubbed a ‘pilot’ scheme, it was hailed a success by local businesses.

And, in fairness, it was a success. The closure facilitated on-street furniture, and a party atmosphere ‘back the West’. It was the place to be; a new rival to the Latin Quarter.

The trial gave a flavour of the potential to ‘re-imagine the public realm’, as the City Hall engineers would say.

There was one problem, though – the Council didn’t tell anyone in advance. Either they forgot, or couldn’t be bothered, but the local authority gave the go-ahead for the temporary street closure without consultation. There was no statutory road closure issued, which requires public notices to be published, and a period of public consultation. Residents weren’t asked.

Brendan McGrath just gave the nod, and it happened. A Council spokesperson at the time told this newspaper that Gardaí had been consulted; Mr McGrath had “no objection”.

Some residents made a fuss. They were annoyed, not by the closure per se, but for being bypassed.

It’s hard to believe that the Council learned nothing from that trial run. Almost two years on and the latest pedestrianisation “plan” has been haphazard.

True, there was an over-reaction online. Social media was a feeding frenzy. Some abuse directed at City Hall was not on. But it must take responsibility.

The Council had since August 2019 to prepare for pedestrianisation of Dominick Street Upper. It had months to prepare for the Government’s much-heralded ‘outdoor summer’.

And yet it failed to publish a coherent plan for the Westend, and it failed to consult in a meaningful way with residents. Ditto with Woodquay.

Credit to those at City Hall who at least tried to make something happen to benefit businesses; better than doing nothing. But there have been too many mistakes, too much confusion.

When the Council published public notices about its intention to make Dominick Street Lower a one-way and close to traffic at night Dominick Street Upper, the advert mixed up the streets.

Then there were mixed signals about which way they wanted the one-way system to operate. Inbound or outbound, nobody really could say definitively.

Emergency services – quite legitimately – raised official objections last week on health and safety grounds. That ultimately scuppered the guts of the proposals for both Dominick Streets.

What nobody has adequately explained is why were these organisations not consulted, and onboard, before the plan – such as it was – was leaked and before public notices were published signalling the intention to close roads.

The Small Crane and William Street West were included, then excluded and then back in again. Galway City Council over-promised. Businesses spent money on furniture based on those promises, which turned out to be undeliverable.

It all smacks of ‘back-of-a-cigarette-packet planning’ that changes depending what mood Twitter is in. It leaves a sour taste in those outdoor pints on a partially pedestrianised Westend!
This is a shortened preview version of Bradley Bytes. To read more, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.