Ridding Galway of most of its roundabouts and replacing them with signalised junctions, similar to that at Moneenageisha, is nothing more than a plan to repeat a “failed experiment”.
This is the view of Fine Gael councillor Hildegarde Naughton who is calling on the Galway City Council to re-think its plans on the roundabouts.
The outspoken councillor argues that the signalised junction at Moneenageisha has not worked and if repeated throughout the city will result in excessive costs and “greater traffic congestion”.
“Since my entry onto Galway City Council, I have been inundated with queries and complaints about Moneenageisha,” she said. “The council’s proposal to multiply this failed experiment will cause even greater congestion.
“There will be extra costs associated with the signalised junctions such as the design of a software simulation traffic model for the city. Ongoing management of this model will be costly not to mention the costs of managing the ‘intelligent lights system’.”
Cllr Naughton is calling for the retention of the roundabouts and for the introduction of zebra crossings, bus lanes, and cycle lanes to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.
“It is widely accepted that roundabouts are a far more efficient form of traffic junction management,” she said. “In France many cities use roundabouts and not traffic lights as they are proven to be far more efficient and cost effective.
“Zebra crossings are in use all over the UK and Europe. They are simple and inexpensive to install and need little maintenance. The pedestrian has right of way and this could be further highlighted with the use of high visibility road markings.”
Cllr Naughton is calling for the €6 million that would be needed to replace the roundabouts to be instead invested in the objectives of the Galway Transportation Unit Business Plan, which seeks to minimise traffic congestion and improve journey times within the city.
