Traffic management centre to tackle Race Week tailbacks

The new Urban Traffic Management Centre will be utilised to the full for this year’s Galway Races, with increased co-operation between the local authority and Gardaí in order to tackle lengthy tailbacks which have tarnished the reputation of the festival.

With discussions between officials in the Galway Transport Unit and the Traffic Corp set to finalise the traffic management plan next week, the UTMC is expected to play its most important role yet in the battle to curb gridlock across the city.

In previous years Gardaí have been assigned to various pinch points to direct traffic, overriding the traffic lights. This year it is expected that no lights will be turned off and instead they will be changed by the nerve centre of the traffic system which controls many of the city’s signalised junctions since the move away from roundabouts.

Signalised junctions at Briarhill, Moneenageisha and the Tuam Road, as well as a stretch of lights on the Dublin Road between Glenina Heights and the GMIT, are all under the control of the UTMC for this year’s traffic avalanche.

Officials in the Council will be keeping their fingers crossed for a traffic operation as smooth as possible after several years of traffic chaos.

In 2010, a traffic accident on the Headford Road shut down the city for up to six hours, which forced the then Taoiseach Brian Cowen to remain longer than he wanted to in Galway after a controversial party convention at the Ardilaun Hotel.

In August 2011, three sets of roadworks were blamed for one of the worst gridlocks the city has ever seen, while city officials blamed the influx of parents shopping for back to school items. 

Bus Éireann’s express service between Eyre Square and the racecourse will again be staged for the 2013 meet to ferry the thousands who will descend on the city for the week-long event beginning on July 29.

Buses will depart as required from Eyre Square West from 3pm on Monday, Tuesday and Friday of the races, with the last service departing the racecourse at 9.30pm.

On Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, buses will depart from 11pm, with the last service scheduled to leave Ballybrit at 8.30pm.

For the first time, Bus Éireann are bringing racegoers even closer to the race course as all buses will be going through the tunnel entrance, dropping customers off within 50 yards of the action.

Adult tickets for the shuttle service are priced at €6 single and €9 return. Tickets for children are priced at €3 single and €5 return. No reservations are necessary. All city services will operate as normal during the festival with the exception of Routes 403 and 409, which will terminate at Briarhill Junction at peak racing times.