The “hazardous junction” near the Merlin Park Hospital and retail area is causing motorists to take risks and putting lives at danger and something needs to be done about it before there is “loss of life”.
This is the view of Fianna Fáil Cllr Mary Leahy. She has written to Ciarán Hayes, director of services at the Galway City Council; Billy Dunne, the council’s senior engineer; Joe Tansey, director of the Galway Transportation Unit; and Garda Superintendent Tom Curley, about the “hazardous junction”.
She is calling for a risk assessment of the junction owing to the “ongoing accidents at this junction for some time”. She pointed out in her letter that she recently saw accident victims at the roundabout “being cut out of their car by the fire brigade”.
Cllr Leahy said the layout of the Merlin Park junction has become “more complex” with the addition of the inbound bus lane. People going to Supermac’s, the newsagent, The Merlin Bar, or the garage are “driving into and reversing back onto bus lane”.
“This is extremely dangerous and must be illegal, but there is no other option,” she wrote. “There is insufficient room for traffic to come and go in orderly and safe manner. Traffic heading outbound that wants to make a right turn to stop at the shop/get fuel, etc, must dash across the bus lane at the quickest possible speed to avoid getting rear ended as there is no dedicated right turn. The speed of this manoeuvre results in very haphazard parking.”
Cllr Leahy was hopeful that the planned Ardaun Corridor would see this junction redesigned and relocated to nearer the Galway Crystal Factory. However she feels it is “very unlikely to happen for many years now”.
However Cllr Leahy is calling for the problems created by the current junction to be “addressed immediately” before there is “loss of life”.
She said any improvement measures must address the various turns made at this junction, including a safe layout of parking for patrons of the various services. She believes the parking space could be redesigned to prevent patrons reversing out onto a bus lane and an entry/exit system put in place.
“I understand this is a matter for the businesses but consideration must be given to the overall safety of road users,” she wrote in her letter. “There is sufficient space outside the gate of the hospital to incorporate improvements. I am confident the various businesses would co-operate with an overall improved design layout for this junction.”
Cllr Leahy is now calling for an “urgent meeting” with the council’s transport and infrastructure department and a garda officer to discuss the issue.
