Work will start within weeks on the removal of the roundabout at Galway Shopping Centre converting it into a signalised junction, according to Cllr Mike Crowe, who said that the work take three months, and will hopefully be completed in early December before the Christmas rush.
Councillor Crowe has long campaigned for the removal of roundabouts in Galway and has welcomed the decision.
“As we have seen with the other new lights around the city, the change here will see benefits for all users of the new junction,” he said. “Currently on a normal day during the afternoon peak there are in excess of 300 vehicles queuing at this junction. The change should alleviate most of this queuing.
“There are also significant benefits in terms of safety for all users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists. This roundabout above any other in the city has probably been the most accident prone and I have campaigned for years for its abolition. In my view and in lots of other Galwegians’ view it is simply very difficult to drive or cycle through it safely. The junction will change all of this.”
A new access road off the Sean Mulvoy Road will bring shoppers directly to the shopping centre, meaning drivers no longer have to negotiate the junction. It is hoped that the removal of an additional arm of the junction will mean more efficient movement. In addition, a new junction will be created adjacent to the Kingfisher Gym at NUI Galway. This will replace the existing traffic lights at Distillery Road, which will become a T-junction, which will connect to the Quincentenniary Bridge road junction.
