Galway is to get its first permanent park and ride facility in Doughiska following a Government grant for the design and planning of such a facility.
The grant, part of a package announced this week, will also include funds for the long awaited quality bus corridor along the Bishop O’Donnell Road and Seamus Quirke Road.
The Galway City Council is to receive €3,114,800 under the 2010 Regional City Bus and Priority and Park & Ride Grants and the money is being targeted at measures that will have a significant impact on public transport provision in the city.
The funding will see €266,808 go towards the Galway Transport Unit; €2,500,000 towards work on the Bishop O’Donnell/Seamus Quirke Road quality bus corridor; €300,000 towards a bus lane on Bothar Uí Eithir/ Forster Street; and €48,000 for the design and planning of a park and ride facility at Doughiska.
The news has been welcomed by Galway West Fianna Fáil TD and chair of the Oireachtas Transport Committee Frank Fahey, particularly the for the funding of the QBC.
“I am delighted that, after a 10 year campaign, we now have significant progress on the construction of a QBC at Bishop O’Donnell Road/Seamus Quirke Road,” he said. “I have been working to secure this development for some time now and I believe that it is a crucial component of bus transportation in the city.”
According to Dep Fahey, the QBC on Bishop O’Donnell Road will give commuters direct bus access to the city to from Barna, Salthill, Knocknacarra, and Connemara.
Work should start at the Western Distributor Road roundabout and include a turning lane and bus corridor coming from the Rahoon Cemetery.
“This would enable buses to use the road at Millar’s Lane which has not yet been opened,” he said, “and help to tackle the bottleneck at the Kingston lights at the top of Taylor’s Hill. I hope the QBC will also be extended across the Quincenntenial Bridge.”
Deputy Fahey also welcomed the allocation of funding for the first park and ride facility in Galway at Doughiska.
“This will serve people living on the east side of the city, allowing them to leave their cars at Doughiska, take the bus, and therefore avoid traffic on the Dublin Road coming in on the QBC,” he said.
Meanwhile the proposed bus lane for Bothar Uí Eithir is planned to come down from Prospect Hill and the Tourist Office to the Meyrick Hotel junction on Eyre Square.
Dep Fahey said this as “a very significant development” as “buses can be stuck in traffic for up to 15 minutes” in the area. He said any plan for the bus lane should also serve buses travelling outwards from Ceannt Station towards the Tourist Office, and take into account the loading requirements of businesses along Forster Street.
