While the country has many ongoing problems admittedly, there is little any of us can do right now, as ordinary citizens, to resolve them, other than exercising our vote at the next election to enact change. That is our democratic prerogative.
Here in our own ecosphere of Galway city, however, we have issues that affect us every single day, and which seem far more immediate. By far the most persistent and frustrating of these is undoubtedly the traffic question.
Traffic congestion has now rocketed Galway to record levels in Europe. In 2024, Galway was ranked the ninth most congested city of its size in Europe, with drivers losing an average of 67 hours a year sitting in traffic. These figures come from INRIX, a global traffic analytics company that collects real-time data from millions of vehicles, mobile devices, and road sensors worldwide.
For anyone living in Galway, this will come as no surprise. The queues on the Headford Road, the endless delays around the Quincentennial Bridge, the daily gridlock in Knocknacarra, Oranmore, Terryland — all of this has become normalised. What should be a 15-minute journey routinely becomes 45 minutes or more. School runs, hospital appointments, work commutes and even social activities are all affected by congestion.
Yet despite this worsening reality, city engineers remain largely silent, and Galway City Council appears resigned to relying on one future solution: the Galway Ring Road. If it is ever delivered, it remains years away. Similarly, the much-discussed light rail system (GLUAS ) is realistically at least twenty years from becoming a reality.
So the question we must ask is simple: what do we do in the meantime?
A Short and Medium Term Perspective
The view of Hurson/Quirke Sinn Féin Cumann in Galway City West is that waiting passively for large infrastructure projects is no longer good enough. That we ourselves have the ability to make the small changes that can help alleviate, or reduce the scale of the problem. The cumann has produced a discussion document on Galway’s traffic crisis, which was launched in the Clybaun Hotel in Knocknacarra last December.
The purpose of the document is not to replace long-term infrastructure planning, but to address the uncomfortable truth that Galway currently has none of the major infrastructures needed to relieve congestion. We have no ring road, no light rail, no functioning suburban rail network, and an overstretched bus service. In the meantime, residents are left with daily gridlock and rising frustration.
The document outlines the challenges Galway faces, draws lessons from comparable cities, and sets out six possible scenarios for immediate and medium-term action. These scenarios combine behavioural changes and policy initiatives. The aim is not to present a finished master plan, but to start a constructive discussion that leads to some progress.
When communities successfully tackle major problems, change occurs gradually in time. It usually begins with small steps, practical adjustments and incremental improvements. Over time, these compound into real, big changes.
Sinn Féin believes that all real change comes from below, among people.
Galway cannot afford to wait 20 years for a perfect solution. We need measures that can start working within months or a year or two at most, not decades.
Six Practical Scenarios for Galway
The discussion document proposes six scenarios that could be implemented separately or combined for greater effect.
1. Car-Pooling Incentives
A surprisingly large proportion of Galway’s traffic consists of single-occupancy vehicles, particularly travelling to industrial estates, business parks and educational institutions. Encouraging car-pooling could have an immediate impact, including; Incentives for workers in large industrial estates to share lifts; Financial supports for organised car-pooling schemes; Specific initiatives to reduce school-run congestion, particularly given that five schools are located in or near the city centre.Even a modest participation could remove hundreds of cars from the roads every morning and evening.
2. Cycling Expansion
Galway is one of the flattest cities in Ireland, yet cycling remains underdeveloped and under-protected. Cycling expansion would require real extension of safe cycling lanes, not just short disconnected segments; Secure bike parking at workplaces, schools and transport hubs; Stronger employer participation in cycle-to-work schemes. Many people would cycle if they felt safe. Right now, many simply do not.
3. Public–Private Minibus Service (The “Dolmu? Model” )
One of the more innovative proposals is a public–private minibus service, modelled on systems used in countries like Turkey.
Under this model, licensed, self-employed drivers operate small buses; routes are semi-flexible with frequent stops; services are overseen by Galway City Council for quality and safety; fares remain affordable.This kind of system fills gaps in the existing bus network and works particularly well in suburban areas where full-size buses are inefficient or underused.
4. Reliable Bus Services Every 15 Minutes
One of the main reasons people avoid buses is simple: they are unreliable.
The success of the 409 route shows what works — frequent, predictable services with reasonable journey times.
This model should be extended citywide: all major routes should operate every 15 minutes; dedicated bus lanes must be expanded and properly enforced; investment is required from Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority. If people can trust that a bus will arrive quickly and get them where they need to go, many will leave the car at home.
5. Park & Ride Hubs
Park & Ride remains one of the most underdeveloped concepts in Galway’s transport system.
The proposal suggests building hubs on vacant lands on the city outskirts, ideally including unused NAMA sites; running high-frequency dedicated buses (every 15 minutes ) from these hubs; keeping cars out of the city core while maintaining accessibility. This approach works in many European cities and is particularly suitable for Galway’s geography.
6. Pedestrianisation of more streets
Galway has already seen the success of pedestrianisation on Shop Street and William Street. Further pedestrianisation could include regular shuttle buses for accessibility;allowing only delivery and emergency traffic; prioritising people over cars in the city centre. Evidence consistently shows that pedestrian streets increase footfall, boost local businesses, and improve quality of life.
A Wider Infrastructure Vision
While short-term measures are essential, they must exist alongside a credible long-term vision.
That includes expanding the Western Rail Corridor to provide real commuter rail options; double-tracking the Athenry–Galway line with an additional stop at Roscam; expanding Park & Ride at Merlin Park beyond hospital staff to include university workers and students; introducing night buses for shift workers and the night-time economy; continuing long-term funding and planning for GLUAS; we still support a Ring Road.None of these are radical ideas. Most already exist in comparable cities across Europe.
The risks of inaction
If Galway continues with car-centric planning and delayed decision-making, the consequences are clear. City centres elsewhere provide a warning. Places like Detroit in the US show how congestion, suburban sprawl and hollowed-out cores can destroy urban life.
Closer to home, the risk is that retail and social life migrates to suburban shopping centres; tourism suffers due to poor accessibility; businesses struggle to attract staff and investment; daily stress and frustration will become the defining feature of city life.
If nothing changes, congestion will continue to worsen. We will still be having the same conversation in ten years’ time — only with longer queues, higher emissions, and greater public anger.
Galway deserves better than permanent gridlock. It deserves a transport system that works for people, not against them.
The traffic question is not simply a technical problem. It is a political and social choice. And it is one we can no longer afford to postpone. The discussion document I mention in this piece is available to read by contacting Sinn Féin Galway City West: [email protected]
Jim Ward is Cathaoirleach – Chairperson of Sinn Féin Hurson/Quirke Cumann in Galway City West, and the Sinn Féin Local Area Representative in Galway City West. An Engineering graduate of Galway University, he is a native of Salthill, and is active in the community through involvement in various organisations.
