This week will see the commencement of the Galway City Council’s annual park and ride scheme - with officials hopeful of a major reduction in traffic congestion this Christmas.
The scheme will allow motorists to park their vehicles at the Galway racecourse and travel by bus to the new Galway Coach Station in Eyre Square for €2.
The service will offer 15 minute frequency from 7:30am to 9:30pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 11am to 7pm on Sundays. The service commences on this Wednesday and will operate until Wednesday December 24, 2008.
Head of Galway Transportation Unit, Joe Tansey welcomed the scheme and said that “the rollout of permanent Park and Ride facilities is one of our key priorities for 2009, adding that a significant challenge is the identification of sites, which meet key criteria such as close proximity to the city centre, while also being situated at the point of congestion. To date, the fast paced development of Galway city has meant that there is a lack of sites within a short radius of the city centre, which meet essential park and ride criteria.”
The route this year has been slightly altered to make full use of the new bus lane on the Dublin road.
The outbound service includes the following stops: Ballybrit – Parkmore Road – Monivea Road - Bothar na dTreabh (Dual Carriageway – South East ) – Dublin Road (R921 ) – Dublin Road (R338 ) – College Road – Bothar Pairc an Aonaigh – Stop (Galway Coach Station ).
The return includes: Pairc an Aonaigh Stop (Galway Coach Station ) – Lough Atalia Road – Ffrench Roundabout – Wellpark Road – Monivea Road – Ballybane Road – Morris Roundabout – Bothar na dTreabh – Lynch Roundabout – Monivea Road – Parkmore Road – Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit.
Mr Tansey added, “This year our service offers three distinct customer benefits relative to previous years, firstly the most competitive all-day parking fares in town, secondly by using Galway Coach Station, customers can avail of state of the art facilities, which offer excellent comfort for our passengers, and thirdly, we aim to maximise use of all bus lane infrastructure including newly completed sections of the Dublin Road bus lane. Combined, these changes should serve to incentivise commuters and shoppers to avail of our Park and Ride service.”
