School ‘cycle bus’ calls for removal of dangers to children
Members of a school ‘cycle bus’ have welcomed Active Travel works at Sea Road but said their daily commute by bike remains dangerous due to bottlenecks on the route at Taylor’s Hill.
Salthill Cycle Bus has written to the company carrying out the Active Travel scheme at Sea Road, on behalf of Galway City Council and Department of Transport, to highlight issues with safety for its members travelling to Scoil Fhursa and other schools in the area.
The Salthill Cycle Bus highlighted to Clifton Scannell, a design consultancy tasked with improving safety around Scoil Fhursa, that it must tackle “illegal parking on the South side of Taylor’s Hill” to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
It sent photographs and videos with examples of hazards for its members exiting St Mary’s Avenue onto Taylor’s Hill, with suggested solutions.
Javier Santoyo, who lives on St Mary’s Avenue, said it was not safe for pedestrians at Taylor’s Hill.
Mr Santoyo, who travels with his children on the Salthill Cycle Bus, said there was no pedestrian crossing exiting St Mary’s Avenue onto Taylor’s Hill.
In addition, he said, one footpath at Taylor’s Hill South was regularly blocked with parked cars, and so they cannot access the traffic lights pedestrian junction from that side; and cars regularly mount the footpath on the opposite side of Taylor’s Hill close to Scoil Fhursa.
“The minimum that happens is cars (on the footpath) splash water on you but sometimes they come very close and they almost ran over my little girl on her scooter,” he said.
A spokesperson for Salthill Cycle Bus said there were dangerous bottle necks on its route, and they called for more bollards at Taylor’s Hill to keep the footpath free from vehicles.
The spokesperson said some bollards had been installed on Taylor’s Hill but it was “far too little to reduce the danger by much”.
“The Salthill Cycle Bus welcomes the recent improvements in terms of bollards to prevent footpath driving, and improved pedestrian safety around the Sea Road junction.
“There remain a good number of dangerous bottle necks on our route where parents report stressful cycling with children due to parked private cars on narrow stretches of the roads,” the spokesperson said.
“Permitting roadside parking on such a narrow stretch at Taylor’s Hill is absolutely bananas and must be addressed with bravery,” a group spokesperson added.
Sea Road/The Crescent Active Travel scheme is funded by the National Transport Authority. It commenced last October and work is still ongoing.
It includes new footpaths, the narrowing of Sea Road junction, new raised tables, and pedestrian crossings at Palmyra Avenue, Sea Road, and The Crescent, and safety bollards.
Pictured: A view of the Salthill Cycle Bus encountering ‘bottlenecks’ at the lower end of Taylor’s Hill on a recent cycle to Scoil Fhursa.