Man in his 50s on bicycle seriously injured in collision involving truck driver in Galway

— Incident prompts campaigners to call for review of large junctions in Galway City.

A man in his 50s was taken to University Hospital Galway with serious injuries after a collision involving a truck driver in Galway yesterday afternoon.

A spokesperson at the Garda Press Office said: “Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of a collision involving a lorry and a bicycle at the junction of the N6 and Quincentenary Bridge in Galway City on Wednesday, 16th October 2024.”

“The incident occurred at approximately 4pm. The cyclist, a man aged in his 50s, was taken to University Hospital Galway to be treated for serious injuries following the collision,” the spokesperson said.

Gardaí said that the road was closed for a period of time but re-opened later on Wednesday evening.

The incident has prompted a new local road safety group, Safer Streets 4 All, to call for an “urgent independent safety review by the Road Safety Authority of some of Galway’s junctions”.

The group said that the collision happened at the slip-turning lane of the northwest corner of the junction between the Quincentenary Bridge and the Headford Road.

“The exact circumstances behind this collision are unknown at this stage, and we first want to express hope for the best possible outcome to the serious injuries sustained by the cyclist,” said Safer Streets 4 All.

The group said that collisions like the one which happened yesterday “highlight serious deficiencies in Galway City’s road and cycling infrastructure” and that the “deficiencies are pronounced in locations like this, where a segregated lane offering good protection for some of the distance turns into a paint-only lane with crossing fast vehicles… the exact point where cyclists need the most protection.”

The junction was converted from a roundabout to a signalised junction with slip turns in 2011. The slip turns at the junction have been highlighted as points of repeated close calls since the redesign. The speed limit on the road was increased last year.

Dave Mathieson, a spokesperson for Safer Streets 4 All, said: “We see this recurring pattern of multiple near misses that eventually result in serious injury or worse. We’d urge anybody with influence over the city’s infrastructure to try these junctions out for themselves by bike or foot at a busy time of day.”

“And we have to remember that for every person involved in a collision like this, there are lots of others who experience a near miss, or who observe these designs with their own eyes, and decide not to cycle because they don’t feel safe,” he said.

Safer Streets 4 All said that it is unclear how a slip lane design like this “could be deemed safe for cyclists”, highlighting how design guidance outlines how the slip turn design encourages faster movements across cycle lanes with little extra capacity for traffic.

The group also expressed concern that “despite the wealth of national and international experience showing this type of junction to be unsafe” similar slip-turn designs are still being implemented in Galway City, such as at one of the arms of the brand-new Martin junction upgrade.

Article continues below images.

IMAGES: File photos of the junction provided by Safer Streets 4 All Galway.

The group also pointed to an Irish Independent article on the worst junctions for cyclists in Irish cities, which was published in 2015. The newspaper asked Galway City Council about the design of the Quincentenary Bridge and the Headford Road junction and the danger for cyclists.

At the time, a spokesperson for Galway City Council said: “This left turn does provide extra capacity at this junction. However the cycle lane has been designed such that the cyclist is on the road in advance of this if they are proceeding straight and are visible to vehicles. The width of the slip lane entry has been minimised which in turn minimises the conflict zone. We are unaware of any issues over safety at this location and meet with the Gardaí on a quarterly basis to get updates on accidents. We will continue to monitor these areas.”

Mathieson added: “We hope the Council is aware, and prepared to take action now, at scores of reported dangerous locations.”

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