Moneenageisha Junction is a failure and has only increased traffic congestion. Its traffic lights should be turned off, traffic control handed over to the gardaí, and those behind it made resign.
This is the view of Fine Gael councillor Pádraig Conneely. He has called on Ciarán Hayes, the Galway City Council’s director of services for transportation and infrastructure, to resign, accusing him of failing “to accept responsibility for the city traffic chaos - in particular Moneenageisha Junction”.
The outspoken councillor demanded Mr Hayes step down in a letter to city manager Joe MacGrath. He called on Mr MacGrath to “remove Mr Hayes from the transport directorate”. He then called for the traffic lights at Moneenageisha Junction to be “immediately turned off” and traffic control to be handed over to the gardaí.
Mr MacGrath responded to Cllr Conneely with a letter defending Mr Hayes and saying he “cannot concur with the sentiments expressed” by the former mayor.
Mr MacGrath said traffic congestion is a feature of all cities and that Mr Hayes and his staff “are implementing a series of measures which seek to reduce traffic congestion in the city and, in particular, encourage other forms of traffic modes”.
He also said Mr Hayes has “successfully implemented a number of measures” including the construction of the bus station, a new bus lane on the Dublin Road, and in securing more than €5 million in financial allocations from the Department of Transport for various sustainable transport measures for Galway city.
The manager said: “I have the fullest confidence in Mr Hayes and his team who need our support in addressing the traffic situation.”
In a statement sent to the Galway Advertiser, Cllr Conneely described Mr MacGrath’s response as “adopting a head in the sand attitude” and “ignoring the problem” in the hope “it will go away”.
