Road rejection leaves thousands of workers in a jam

It was billed as the key component in solving the chronic traffic problems facing up to 6,000 workers in Parkmore each day – but design flaws have led to a plans for a new relief road in the business park to be shot down by An Bord Pleanala.

Already the head of one of the biggest employers in Parkmore said he has been left “flabbergasted” by the decision.

Noting “arithmetical impossibilities” in drawings submitted for the roadway; references to incorrect sections of road design guidelines and a scheme that would put pedestrians and cyclists at serious risk, the Appeals Board rejected the IDA’s proposals for the ‘left in, left out’ link road.

One objector pointed out that drawings showed the new road would be nine and a half metres wide – but with two 1m cycle lanes; two 3m general lanes; two 0.45m ghost island markings and one 0.75m concrete central island with bollards, that actually added up to 9.65m.

The planning refusal could have far more wide-ranging implications than leaving workers stuck in their cars for up to 90 minutes each evening.

The head of a major employer in Parkmore has warned the decision sends a “bad message” to industry chiefs in the United States.

Already, the traffic situation there has caused “major reputational damage” to Galway and CEOs of multinationals within Parkmore have expressed serious concerns to the IDA and local authorities.

Each day, thousands of workers commute to work in Parkmore, which is home to some of Galway’s biggest employers, including Medtronic, Genband, Celestica, BSM, Lake Region Medical, Merit Medical, SAP and Fidelity.

Pat Duane, Vice President of Global Operations with Creganna – who is also spokesperson for Parkmore Traffic Action Group – said: “This really sends a bad message [to the United States], we’ll manage it as best we can, but it doesn’t paint us in a great picture from the point of view of somewhere you want to do business,” he said.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.