The four new traffic junctions in the city, some of which have been left “almost in a wild state”, will undergo significant landscaping works from next week with the view to bringing them up to standard and attractive for visitors by end of May.
Chairman of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and Fianna Fáil city councillor Michael Crowe confirmed this week that a contract has been signed by the Galway City Council to carry out the landscaping works.
Cllr Crowe, who has worked a number of months with council officials to ensure the contract agreement would be reached, said yesterday that the landscaping works are vital for a city which attracts so many tourists and aims to take part in initiatives such as the European Capital of Culture bid, and the Purple Flag.
“Since the new junctions have opened the areas around them have been left in bad repair and almost in a wild state. This does not look good. Although it was not part of the original works, it was my hope it would subsequently be done. It think it important that these areas look well as they are all on the main route in and out of the city. For example, the Briarhill junction is the first one motorists meet on approaching Galway. It makes an impression and at the moment it looks in a poor condition. The others which are located at Ballybrit, the Tuam Road, and the shopping centre also look poor and I felt, that as these are all key locations in Galway, this could not continue.
Cllr Crowe concluded: “Over the last number of years, we have worked to ensure that all the main roads in and out of the city have a selection of flowers and greenery. This effort needs to continue and improve over the coming years. I believe that it is vital that our city looks as well as it can particularly for visitors.”
