The #Barriers2Galway was originally created to highlight barriers such as kissing gates, but after it was expanded to input from the public on more types of ‘barriers’ to get around the city, it received a surge of responses.
The issues collected affect pedestrians, including wheelchair and buggy users, as well as people using scooters and bicycles.
Dave Corley, curator of the original #Barriers2Galway map, merged the existing data with the new received via an online form.
Corley said: “There’s a wild level of demand for this infrastructure. We received 157 submissions in the first weekend alone which demonstrates the level of hidden demand for safe crossing points across Galway city.”
“We’re learning about dangerously narrow and disappearing footpaths, excessively wide junction crossings making safe crossing extremely challenging and a high level of stress for walkers and wheelers,” he said.
He added: “While many submissions to the map came from individuals, organisations also got involved. Ability West, for example, provided details of specific hazards around its community centre that need urgent attention.”
In a press release issued this morning, Dave said that, given the surge in interest, he has joined with Eoin Ryan, another local road safety campaigner, to form the Safer Streets 4All group to “campaign for safer streets for walkers and wheelers in Galway.”
The two have set up a WhatsApp Community group called SaferStreets4All and inviting others to connect.
Ryan said: “Dave and I have a shared interest in trying to resolve road safety issues in Galway. We created a WhatsApp community last week to collaborate with others who share our concerns and already have 63 people in the community with more joining every day.”
“The ultimate goal is to use the information gathered to work with the appropriate stakeholders to get these dangerous locations improved. As a starting point, we identified a handful of locations flagged in the submissions and created mock-ups of what these sites would look like with the addition of the newer, cheaper style of zebra crossings.”
Karen Forde Munroe, a Lower Salthill resident, said: “Crossing safely with two children side by side in a double buggy, and my older child on a scooter, poses a huge challenge for our family on narrow Galway paths.”
She added: “I urge the Council to install scores of zebra crossings to address the serious growing, safety and accessibility concerns for parents on Galway city roads. At the moment it’s stressful, chaotic and dangerous as no one knows where to cross.”
The group said that the recently updated National Transport Authority Cost Management Guidelines advise that newer zebra crossing designs with signs rather than beacons are “far cheaper to install”.
Galway City has recently used the design at an upgraded crossing at Clybaun Stores, and the group wants its use expanded further for a faster rollout of safer crossings.
The project to collect the road safety and accessibility issues has also been welcomed by local Social Democrats and Labour councillors, with two of them issuing statements via the new group commending their efforts.
Cllr Alan Curran (Social Democrats) said: “This is a great community-led project which highlights to us in the Council where barriers to access exist across the city. There needs to be a better process for those who walk, wheel, scoot and cycle around their communities to communicate with the council and have their needs met.”
“Barriers2Galway has already been a great source of data for removing kissing gates and it’s exciting to see this new list of priority areas in need of safe crossings,” he said.
Cllr Curran added: “Now we’re aware of the popular crossing spots, the narrow and broken footpaths, the dangerous junctions with wide sweeping bends. What are the small, simple and cheap interventions that can make a massive difference to the safety of the entire community? These are important questions that need our attention.”
Cllr Helen Ogbu (Labour) said: “As a community, we have a responsibility and the power to make Galway’s streets safer for everyone. I wholeheartedly support this initiative and encourage open dialogue about not only pedestrian safety but also the critical need for safe footpaths and bicycle lanes.”
She added: “We can create a more secure and welcoming environment for all residents and visitors in Galway City“.
Interesting initiative, and what is notable is that in many of the solutions, the cost of implementation is infintesimal. The cost of painting some zebra lines on existing raised ramps that have tactile paving already installed.
Funny enough, DLRCC don’t seem to have got the National Transport Authority Cost Management Guidelines memo. They just wasted 10s of thousands of Euro installing a new set of belisha lights at a new zebra crossing on the old Bray Road at the Cabinteely park entrance last week. A relatively low-traffic location that definitely did not merit flashy lights that are not even visible on sunny days.