Traffic mayhem expected in Galway

The Tuam Road and Headford Road have been identified as two of the worst bottlenecks in the country as Galway motorists have been issued with a fresh warning that they face the worst traffic chaos in years over the next few months.

AA Roadwatch have warned that a rise in new car sales is set to add to congestion on the city’s roads on a scale not seen since the economic collapse occurred in 2008.

The organisation, which provides regular traffic updates, has noted a significant increase in congestion in the cities of Dublin, Cork, and Galway this year.

“Traffic volumes are up across the road network and we are seeing that every day,” said AA Roadwatch spokesperson Arwen Foley. “We are expecting the months from now until Christmas to be the busiest in years.”

She said that improvements to the economy were likely to lead to increased congestion on the roads, while car ownership had doubled over the past 25 years.

Ms Foley said that the Tuam Road and Headford Road were two of the heaviest routes for traffic across the entire country this year, as they are regularly mentioned on morning radio bulletins.

However, a Galway City Council spokesman said a number of measures taken by the local authority would ensure that there would be no return to the traffic jams of the “boom” years.

The spokesman pointed out that the new Urban Traffic Management Centre (UTMC) allowed traffic levels to be altered on demand, while the conversion of a number of roundabouts into signalised junctions also facilitated the flow of vehicles across the city.

He pointed out that the decision to postpone the Lough Atalia bridge enhancement scheme until mid-January would also help to avoid increased congestion in the run-up to the Christmas period.

The successful pre-Christmas ‘park and ride’ scheme is also set to keep cars off the city roads during the peak shopping season.

“The Headford Road is an issue and will continue to be an issue while we have a roundabout on it,” said the spokesman. “We have seen that the replacement of roundabouts by signalised junctions has greatly improved the flow of traffic across the city.”

He said that the local authority would engage consultants to plan the transformation of the Kirwan Roundabout for the second time in two years early in 2015.

The spokesman said the success of the UTMC, which allows staff to change traffic signals in response to tail-backs, was evident during a busy festival season in July.

He also suggested that commuters needed to consider the options of using public transport, cycling, or walking to work or places of education if Galway is to tackle its traffic congestion problems.

“It is great that there is an indication the economy is beginning to recover,” said the spokesman. “But we still have a limited road network in and around the city. We have a capacity issue. With respect to AA Roadwatch, their focus is on motorists on our roads.

“We need to get away from the model of a single commuter in a single car. We understand where AA Roadwatch are coming from, but there are the needs of cyclists, pedestrians, and public transport users to consider as well. The development of the new signalised junctions has improved commuting times for these commuters.”