In the March monthly meeting of Galway City Council, in response to a question from Cllr. Niall Murphy, the executive agreed to involve councillors in the process of identifying the next set of locations for pedestrian crossings.
Other road layout changes have often had an extensive design process and public consultations, but smaller changes like pedestrian crossings have not gotten as much consideration. Cllr Murphy is advocating for a change; “Councillors are often the ones who hear from the public about the most treacherous crossings, and they need to be involved in the process before locations and designs are finalised.
“In my opinion there are several locations on the Western Distributor Road (WDR ) that would benefit from crossings. At the Bishop O’Donnell Road end, the Dean roundabout has no pedestrian crossings, and on the other roundabouts they are inconsistent, present on some exits and not on others. The southern arm of the Ballymoneen roundabout needs a crossing to allow easier access to new retail development, and to slow traffic exiting the WDR.
“Recent guidelines issued to local authorities mean that the zebra crossings can be constructed without beacon lights. This makes a huge difference to the cost of the crossings as no power supply is required. The initial reaction might be that they would be less visible and less safe, but yield and stop signs do not have flashing beacons. I believe that, like many European countries, we will quickly adopt to this simple, cheap, way of making our town more walkable.”
When designing a crossing, there is a choice between a zebra where the pedestrian has right of way once they start crossing, and a signalised crossing where the pedestrian presses the ‘beg-button’ and waits for a green man. Cllr. Murphy suggests that zebra crossings are a better option in most cases; “At a signalised junction, the pedestrian has sometimes crossed before the green man leaving the red light needlessly holding back impatient traffic. At the other extreme, a slower pedestrian does not have time to make the crossing during the green-man time. Zebras simplify this awkward dance between cars and pedestrians.”
