A new design for the Western Distributor Road, including bus lanes and off road segregated cycle lanes, is set to become a reality, following the National Transport Authority provision of funding to the Galway Transportation Unit.
The funding will allow the GTU to design an enhanced Western Distributor Road. Work is currently ongoing in the preparation of the tender documents to recruit a design team.
'The road is ideally located for the development of a high capacity public transport corridor, which must become a fundamental feature of the redesigned road'
It is understood the new design will feature bus lanes and that these will link to the current bus lane on Bishop O’Donnell Road. Currently the road only has on-road cycle lanes, but the new design is expected to provide off-road, segregated, cycle lanes on both sides of the road. The current junctions will also be re-designed. It is expected that the work will be carried out on a phased basis.
Fianna Fáil Galway City West councillor John Connolly has welcomed the development, and he is now calling on the Galway City Council to seek the requisite funding for the development of the project as a transport priority.
“The road traverses an area of significant population, but only has limited public transport provision," said Cllr Connolly. "Bus Éireann currently does not provide any service to residents along the road beyond the Gateway Retail Park. There is no priority for public transport along the road. The road is ideally located for the development of a high capacity public transport corridor, which must become a fundamental feature of the redesigned road.”
