The Flat Earth Society
Other Discussion Boards => Philosophy, Religion & Society => Topic started by: xasop on July 16, 2021, 01:00:24 PM
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According to Inrix (https://inrix.com/scorecard/), Galway is, after Dublin, the second-most congested city in Ireland. This is, in many ways, unsurprising. Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Derry all have larger populations, but Cork and Limerick both have (half) ring roads that enable through traffic to bypass the city centre, while Belfast has an inner city bypass. Galway, on the other hand, funnels all traffic transiting the city over the 4-lane Quincentenary Bridge. What's more, the city is laid out such that the residential areas are mostly in the west, and the employment centres are mostly in the east, so that most working people drive across this bridge twice per day.
As always with transportation problems, this has given rise to lively debate over the best solution. There is a ring road proposed for Galway as an extension of the M6 motorway from Dublin that currently dumps traffic onto city roads, but due to geographical and environmental constraints, it needs to be built much closer to the city than ring roads typically run, which has raised concerns that it will only make traffic problems worse. There is a good explanation of the history and status of the project in The Journal (https://www.thejournal.ie/dead-end-n6-ring-road-5397513-Apr2021/). Although that article says a decision on the project was due from An Bord Pleanála in April, that has now been delayed twice to August (https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-news-desk/delayed-decision-on-future-of-galway-city-ring-road-brought-before-seanad/), so we still don't know if this is getting built.
But only a fool would think that a ring road by itself would solve the city's congestion problems. A good public transport network is vital to reducing car dependency in any modern city, and given the low population density in and around Galway, buses are the favoured option. Galway City Council has now announced that they intend to submit plans for a new Cross City Link bus project by the end of the year (https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-news-desk/city-council-to-apply-for-planning-permission-for-major-bus-project-by-start-of-next-year/). Crucially, this proposal includes restrictions on private traffic during peak hours, which will help deal with the problem of buses being delayed by the same congestion problems as cars.
There is a brochure with some preliminary details on the project on Arup's website (https://virtualengage.arup.com/busconnects-galway-cross-city-link/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=file/Room%201/brochure.pdf), although we will have to wait and see what the Council submits to An Bord Pleanála. If they get it right, this could go hand-in-hand with the ring road to significantly reduce the number of cars on Galway's streets.
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Mexico City has had success with its cable-car system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicable
I think if, post-COVID, cities return to masses working in offices as opposed to from home, that a lot of cities could and should consider this. The support pylons have a small footprint, with little impact on the ground, both in terms of ground works and inconvenience to dwellers. No pollution, beyond the source electricity generation.
For particularly scenic cities, the tourist trade will help offset the build cost.
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I think if, post-COVID, cities return to masses working in offices as opposed to from home, that a lot of cities could and should consider this.
Different modes of public transport are suited to different cities. A large upfront investment in dedicated infrastructure is not suitable for a city with a low population density such as Galway, where many low-capacity routes are desirable. Buses are advantageous in such situations because they can use existing roads and can be altered and extended quickly and cheaply.
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I was interested in getting a better overview of how these projects fit together, so I created a map.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=19Qy7kwixB9AeO5fsuxzRJvDeg-623uIQ
(https://i.pha.lt/galway)
The red line is the proposed Galway ring road, the blue line in the middle of the city is the main bus priority corridor forming the centre of the Cross-City Link, and the green lines extending outwards are other bus priority works, including the Dublin Road corridor.
Disclaimer: Since I drew these lines manually, they are not very precise in places, especially the ring road.
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A third of submissions on the first stage of consultation are negative, although this article (https://connachttribune.ie/one-third-of-submissions-on-new-cross-city-bus-link-were-negative/) doesn't go into a great deal of detail about why. It is interesting that some councillors are talking about the ring road, which seems to have little to do with this project. The ring road would relieve the existing N6, which is not impacted at all by these bus priority works.