Study to decide if a new surface is needed for pedestrianised streets

A survey of Galway City’s pedestrianised zone is to be carried out by the local authority, to establish whether an entirely new street surface needs to be installed.

Director of Services for Transportation and Infrastructure with Galway City Council, Ciarán Hayes, said he hopes to have an engineering report with councillors before the end of the year.

The report will put forward a proposal for a new type of surface – if it concludes a new one is required – while it will also take into account the fact that an outdated sewer mains running along Shop Street needs to be replaced.

“In coming to any decision, we’d have to give full regard to an engineering report. I don’t have a timeframe for that to happen, but it should be this year,” Mr Hayes told the Galway City Tribune.

The matter was raised at a meeting of the City Council this week, where councillors called for the uneven surface along William Street, Shop Street, Mainguard Street, High Street and Quay Street to be addressed.

Cllr Declan McDonnell said that parts of the cobblestone are in very bad condition, and the visually impaired, wheelchair users and those with mobility difficulties find it very difficult to navigate their way around dips and holes.

“Rather than tarmacadam the entire area, which would be quite expensive, the Council could save a huge amount of money by creating a level strip of tarmacadam on either side of the street – one for each direction – that could be used,” said Cllr McDonnell.

He said the issue should be looked at positively rather than negatively.

“This is an opportunity to address an issue that has been ongoing since 1998 and fix the pedestriansed areas,” he said,

Mr Hayes said absolutely no decision had been made to resurface the streets, and any such decision would only be made depending on the outcome of the engineering survey.

“No decision has been made to put in a new surface. There were suggestions that it be tarmacadamed, but they were merely proposals. Before anything is done, a full engineering analysis must be carried out. It may be that the existing surface is the most appropriate,” said Mr Hayes.

He said that much of the damage caused to the cobblestones is due to Heavy Goods Vehicles doing deliveries, and the fact that services are located underground.

“For every surface of every road, there are always ongoing issues for maintenance. This is a pedestrianised area, so it is absolutely appropriate for it to have a different surface, but the nature of it presents us with different challenges for upkeep and maintenance,” he said.

He warned that if a decision was made to replace the surface, there would be a “very serious cost issue” involved, and that the old drainage network would have to be rehabilitated, which would also have a significant cost.