“No footpath, no vote” is the message locals will be sending to election candidates unless measures are taken to make the very dangerous Maunsells Road/Taylor’s Hill junction safe for pedestrians and cyclists.
Residents in the Maunsells Road/Taylor’s Hill area are calling on the Galway City Council and local politicians to honour commitments, going back to 2008, to provide a footpath at the junction.
Currently there is no footpath and the road is too narrow for pedestrians to pass safely when cars are driving in both directions. It is also a busy junction for pedestrians with children making their way to school in the mornings.
Residents have argued that the junction is a “death trap” which is “putting lives of pedestrians and school children at risk”. Their renewed call on the city council to take action follows an accident at the junction last week in which a father and his son were knocked from their bicycle.
The boy was thrown in front of oncoming traffic and the father was trapped under a bus for more than half an hour. Salthill Gardai are seeking witnesses to the accident.
A spokesperson for the Maunsells Road/Park Residents’ Association said they received a commitment from the council in 2008 that the problems would be addressed and another commitment in March 2010 that funding for the works would be sought for the 2011 roadworks budget.
According to residents, the city council’s own research shows that in excess of 6,000 cars per day travel along this road and that 50 per cent of the cars travelling down Taylor’s Hill turn left onto Maunsells Road, and along the stretch of road where there is no footpath.
“There is no footpath and the road is too narrow for pedestrians to pass safely when cars are driving in both directions,” said the spokesperson. “It’s disgraceful. We have consistently pointed out that the 50m stretch of Maunsells Road that leads up to the junction with Taylor's Hill was an accident waiting to happen.”
While the residents understand that funding will be hard to come by, they argue that the junction needs to be fixed “before someone else gets hurt”.
“We need to see our elected representatives show concern for the safety of their constituents - and voters,” the spokesperson said. “Does someone have to die before these impending vote-seekers do anything? The message to canvassers on Maunsells Road this election is: No footpath, no vote.”
The AGM of the Maunsells Road/Park Residents Association takes place in The Ardilaun on Friday February 18 at 8pm.
