Week of traffic woe on city's roads
Broken traffic lights, torrential rain, mid-term break and the Novena combined to create the ‘perfect storm’ last week causing traffic chaos across the city.
Motorists were stuck in their cars for up to 90 minutes in the evenings on all routes out of the city centre.
Meanwhile, a city councillor has said he has no confidence in the Galway Transportation Unit based at City Hall.
The lights at the Newcastle junction with Quincentenary Bridge were out of action for more than three days, after a €25,000 control module was destroyed in a car crash.
That caused chronic congestion on the bridge, as well as the other main routes into and out of the city, as motorists attempted to avoid the junction.
Bus services were also hit each evening – commuters spent an hour to get from Prospect Hill to the Moneenageisha junction on Wednesday and Thursday, while intercity operators also issued alerts that services were running at least 30 minutes late.
Coupled with the general increase in traffic caused by the Solemn Novena at Galway Cathedral and from schools being closed for mid-term break, last week was branded “one of the worst” in the city’s history.
A spokesperson for the City Council said the Newcastle lights were out of action until Wednesday afternoon, as a replacement component had to be ordered from France and a new housing cabinet constructed.
“It [the traffic] was a perfect storm, and there is also a significant increase in volumes of traffic due to the upturn in the economy. During mid-term breaks, we see a benefit for other road users in the mornings, but traffic becomes much heavier in the evenings.
“A component had to be ordered from France for the traffic lights. It’s a bespoke item (worth around €25,000) for a specific junction, so it’s not the kind of item you’d have a spare lying around.”
Cllr Mike Crowe – a former Chairperson of the Council’s Transport Committee – said the city’s traffic system has not been properly run for the past six to nine months.
“Despite all the money and investment in the GTU (Galway Transportation Unit), it just isn’t working. Traffic in this city could be, and was, running smoother. I don’t think the system is being manned as it should be. I have no confidence in the department.
“[It] was one of the worst ever for traffic in Galway, and it just seems to be getting worse,” said Cllr Crowe.