Three city councillors have warned that “excessive measures” being proposed to stop ‘rat-run’ shortcuts being taken by traffic through Renmore will only create more problems than they will solve.
Speaking after a meeting with Galway City Council Executive Engineer Michael Lally, they also expressed disappointment that nothing was being done to stop cars using Murrough Avenue as a ‘rat-run’.
Cllr Terry O’Flaherty (Ind ), Cllr Declan McDonnell (Ind ) and Cllr Alan Cheevers (FF ) held the meeting with Mr Lally, to discuss the Ballyloughane Road and Renmore Avenue Active Travel Scheme.
They said that the priorities of the Active Travel Scheme were for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users — with cars a poor fourth, given no consideration at all.
“Ultimately the goal is to solve the problem of people turning down from the Dublin Road at the roundabout near the former GMIT, now ATU, onto the Ballyloughane Road and using Renmore Avenue as a rat run.
“But the problem is, by signalising a number of junctions and increasing the raised crossings on Ballyloughane Road and Renmore Avenue, that it will drive the traffic further and deeper into Renmore.,” said Cllr O’Flaherty.
New traffic lights, three in total, are to be installed under the Active Travel Scheme at the junctions on both ends of Renmore Avenue, at the meeting with Renmore Road (near the Full Duck restaurant ) and at its junction with Ballyloughane Road, and also at the entrance to Gaelscoil Dara.
Several raised crossings and speed ramps, 20 in total, will also be installed along both Renmore Avenue and Ballyloughane Road, while double yellow lines will be installed on both sides along the Ballyloughane Road from the Dawn Dairies to the bridge including the length of Renmore Avenue, almost a mile in length taking both roads in.
The three councillors said that the biggest problem with the plan was its effect on the junction of the Ballyloughane Road and the Dublin Road, beside the former Dawn Dairies premises.
“The options for traffic exiting onto the Dublin Road at this point will be reduced from two lanes to one lane, to give more room to pedestrians and cyclists.
“This will cause further congestion on the Ballyloughane Road as the right turning traffic has currently great difficulty getting onto the Dublin road and this would mean anyone caught behind them and wishing to turn left would have to wait for long periods — which would mean that drivers would use other areas in Renmore for access instead.
Exacerbated
“The problem will be exacerbated by the fact that there is a bus stop on the Ballyloughane Road, just before the junction.
“And there is a ‘buildout’ (narrowing of the road ) proposed on the Ballyloughane Road, where cars turning in from the Dublin Road would have to yield to traffic coming up the Ballyloughane Road.
“This could cause absolute chaos during peak time,” Cllr O’Flaherty stated
The councillors who met with the Council engineer also pointed out that the proposed Ballyloughane Road and Renmore Avenue Active Travel Scheme did not address another problem experienced by residents in the area.
“The Council have done absolutely nothing to deal with the rat running through Murrough avenue. it’s imperative that the rat running through this area should be given priority to alleviate the traffic problems there.
“And the Council have no plans to provide alternative parking following the installation of double yellow lines, which will take away dozens of car parking spaces, nor do they have any plans to address the removal of on-street parking for residents of the Ballyloughane Road.
“Between double yellow lines, signalised traffic lights, speed ramps, raised surfaces on side road junctions, narrowing of the left turning lane at the Dawn Dairies junction, the overall total is 32 changes.
“While traffic calming measures should be put in place, especially at the schools, the proposed plans are excessive and would be the ruination of particularly the Ballyloughane road if these plans go ahead.
“For that reason the proposed plans should either be scaled back or scrapped similar to what happened with the Salthill cycle lanes, which were temporary while the one for Renmore would be permanent”, she added.
