Traffic busting unit approved for City

Date Published: 07-Mar-2008

Funding for a specialist unit that plans to accelerate the delivery of public transport and alleviate traffic jams in the city has been given the green light — and a staff of nine is to begin work within months.

City Manager, Joe MacGrath, has announced that theDepartment of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has just approved staffing for the newly established Galway Transport Unit.

The unit, under the auspices of Galway City Council, will have a staff of nine, mostly engineers,whose sole task will be to tackle transportation issues in the city, namely improving traffic management for all road users.

“This represents a major advancement of the transport objectives for the City and this is the first time that a dedicated number of staff can be assigned to rolling out the necessary transport infrastructure and services to support the City’s continued growth and development as a gateway and a regional centre. We are hoping to have all nine staff in place by late Summer this year,” said Mr MacGrath.

Last year the Council secured a commitment from the Department that they would fund 50% of the Galway Transport Unit’s costs while the City Council has committed the remaining 50% of funding for a five-year period.

The Transport Unit is being established for an………………