In the current economic climate, no proposals should be made which will hurt business and trade in Galway city, so the decision to close Lower Merchants Road to traffic makes no sense.
This is the view of Labour councillor Niall McNelis who has come out in support of the businesses in the Lower Merchants Road and New Docks Street.
The Galway City Council is proposing to make Lower Merchants Road a pedestrian walkway by closing off the left turn onto Lower Merchants Road from New Docks Street. The council is proposing to take this action in order to cut out ‘rat running’ through the area.
City Hall feels there is a problem with cars using the area as a ‘short cut’ and that this is causing risks to the lives of pedestrians and other motorists. Traffic will also need to be prevented from coming into the area when construction begins on the Solas Art House Cinema.
“The rat running was creating major difficulties in the area and making drivers irate,” a City Hall spokesperson said. “It was also creating a traffic backlog at the junction.”
However businesses and residents in the area have reacted angrily to the proposal to close Lower Merchants Road. They say the move has been taken without consultation and that it will have an adverse affect on business in the area, with traffic seriously reduced by both the construction works and the road closure.
“Times are tougher in the current climate and that means we all have to work harder so we don’t need something that will prevent customers and deliveries getting to us,” a spokesperson for the David Martin Hair Salon, one of the main businesses in the area, told the Galway Advertiser.
The chief complaint is that there was no consultation with businesses before temporary barriers were erected on Lower Merchants Road.
“The council put up temporary barriers while completing footpath works,” the spokesperson said. “After the works were completed we noticed that the barriers were not being taken down. When we asked why we were told they would be a permanent structure.”
Last week businesses and residents met with an engineer from City Hall to discuss the issue, following which the temporary barriers were removed. A further meeting was held with City Hall, but officials were adamant the road must be closed off.
An undertaking was given by City Hall to close off the road only for a three month period , after which a review would be conducted. However locals are still sceptical about the need for a closure at all.
“We don’t want this lane closed,” the spokesperson from the David Martin Hair Salon said. “There is a certain amount of rat running but it’s only one or two cars. We are the people that live and work here. We don’t see a problem and we would be the first to know about it if there was.”
Labour councillor Niall McNelis said consultation is vital and must always precede any action by the Galway City Council.
“At a time when things are tough, City Hall should be trying to take actions that will save jobs,” he said. “This is not about privileging business over all else, this is about survival and businesses these days are fighting for survival. If a business goes, that is one less rate payer in the city, and that means less money for City Hall to carry out much needed works
