Until a footpath is provided on the “treacherous” stretch at the Taylor’s Hill end of Maunsells Road, all heavy goods vehicles and buses should be banned from the route.
This is the view of Fianna Fáil councillor Peter Keane who has tabled a motion on the issue for the next sitting of the Galway City Council.
Cllr Keane has described the stretch of road which includes a busy junction and an area of road across from it with no pavement for pedestrians as “treacherous for pedestrians and cyclists alike”.
“With many young children of the surrounding area returning to school in the coming days the time has surely arrived for some action on this urgent issue,” he said.
Cllr Keane acknowledges that there is a lack of funding to provide for the footpath, which is why he has called for a ban “which I am certain will improve the situation for pedestrians and cyclists in the interim”.
He has also written to local Bus Éireann management seeking their co-operation on the matter. When asked about the inconvenience the ban may have on people who use bus services in the area, Cllr Keane cited the existence of bus stops at either end of Maunsells Road, on Taylor’s Hill, and Shantalla Road.
“This ban would result in a change to existing bus routes by diverting buses away from Maunsells Road,” he said, “but peoples safety is my paramount concern.”
