Christmas traffic chaos highlights necessity of progressing city by-pass – Connolly

Published on: 04 January 2016


Fianna Fáil General Election candidate John Connolly says the traffic chaos experienced in Galway city during the Christmas period further emphasises the need for the new outer by-pass to be constructed without delay.

Mr. Connolly explained, “There is a perception that Galway’s traffic problems only occur during school term time, however we saw widespread backlogs and traffic jams in and around the city in the weeks leading up to and after Christmas.

“We witnessed similar tailbacks during the mid-term break last October and it is obvious that the reality of the situation in Galway is that current road network is simply unable to deal with the volume of traffic coming into and out of the city. Various reports have highlighted that crucial junctions at key locations are operating way above capacity.

“Easy access to the city during the holiday period is crucial for the wellbeing of commercial activity.  Anecdotally there are reports that people are choosing to shop outside the city to avoid the traffic congestion.

“At a recent meeting of the Fianna Fáil Cumann in An Spidéal, I gave a commitment to the members to fully support the progression of the New City Outer by-pass. Members highlighted the importance of the new road to the Cois Fharraige area.  ARUP Consultancy has claimed that the new road is essential in aiding the Connemara region to revitalise, improve and develop into the future”.

Mr Connolly has also claimed that this should be the last Christmas whereby Park and Ride facilities are only available on the east side of the city.

“It’s almost ten years since the racecourse Park and Ride began operating in the city. It’s high time that the local authority and Bus Eireann developed a similar service for people accessing the city centre from west of the city. Planning for this should begin now.”

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