Mr. Brendan McGrath:

We look forward to the launch of the national planning framework, NPF, this Friday. The draft national planing framework highlights the importance of our cities and the population growth ambition rates for the cities. It references compact forms of urban development in all types of settlements, supported by public transport, and it states that Galway's population is targeted to grow by 45,000 by 2040 which interestingly is twice as much to 2040 as was achieved in the period up to 2016. It also references the focus on investment in infrastructure and livability and choice in terms of housing and employment and supporting new employment opportunities.

The draft NPF highlights 13 growth enablers for Galway. I propose to focus on what is needed in transport terms to enable Galway to grow. The draft NPF references progressing the sustainable development of new greenfield areas for housing and the development of supporting public transport and infrastructure, such as is proposed for Ardaun; improving access and sustainable transport links to and integrated with existing employment areas to the east of the city such as Parkmore, Ballybrit and Mervue; the provision of a city-wide public transport network with enhanced accessibility between existing and proposed residential areas and the city centre, third level institutions and employment areas to the east of the city; focuses on public realm and urban amenity projects, including streets, public spaces, particularly in support of an extended city centre area where residential and employment areas can be linked to pedestrian routes; and development of a strategic cycleway network with a number of high capacity flagship routes and the delivery of the Galway city ring road, which my county council colleagues will speak about later.

As everybody here will be aware, Galway city is a medieval city and so it has a compact city centre core with low density suburbs. It has been referred to by others as the fastest growing city in Europe. The city has succeeded in driving forward its economic development and today it has a world class medical technology cluster within it, which thankfully is continuing to grow. Galway City Council recognises that the socioeconomic development of the city is foremost and we also recognise that address of the transportation issues is critical because it is clearly impacting on the reputation of the city. If this issue is not addressed, attracting new economic investment and creating new jobs in the city will be difficult. As per the statistics outlined by the chief executive of the NTA there are over 43,000 journeys to employment across the various sectors in Galway: the five national routes coming into the city carry over 80,000 vehicles per day and approximately 95,000 vehicles cross four bridges in the city, three of which are in the city centre. Morning peak traffic on the M6 in 2013 stood at 3,200 vehicles. Prior to the opening of the M17-M18, it stood at 4,600 and today it stands at 6,250.

Some of the current challenges for us in terms of transport include an over-reliance on private car travel in Galway city; significant dispersed traffic movements to, through and around the city centre; constraints to national, regional and local transport movements, all of which funnel through Galway city, including all movement to and from Connemara; and, as I stated earlier, there are limited bridge crossings, three of which are in the city centre.

The sea to the lake is a distance of 5 km, north to south, while east to west, the distance across the city is between 8 km and 9 km, depending on from where one judges that. Traffic solutions are also impacted by constraints such as topography, water and extensive areas of protected habitats. Finding solutions has been difficult and extensive, as we will outline specifically in respect of the city ring road.

Many of the key junctions in the city are operating way beyond their capacity. They operate at between 120% and 140% of capacity at peak times. There is an inappropriate mix of transport modes in the city centre due to the limited road space for all the different public transport modes. There is significant peak hour congestion and journey times are uncertain. Most important, there are associated safety concerns.

The city's public transport network is in need of enhanced capacity and additional priority. We have a limited and discontinuous cycle network and the NTA emphasises that we have restricted footpaths and poor accessibility for disabled and mobility impaired persons. There are significant safety issues, especially for pedestrians. For example, we shot a video at the Kirwan roundabout one morning and made a presentation to the city council about removing it at our second last meeting. The number of near misses involving pedestrians was frightening and that happens every day. There are 1,000 pedestrian movements across that roundabout between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. People are jumping lanes of traffic to cross the roundabout and that is just one example.

As Ms Graham outlined, the Galway transport strategy, GTS, has been brought forward as the solution. It is an evidence-based strategy for the region, which sets out a clear vision to create a connected city region driven by smarter mobility. The strategy has been adopted by both Galway City Council and Galway County Council and it has been included in the development plans of both local authorities. The GTS provides a framework for implementing transport proposals in Galway for the next 20 plus years. It is a consistent policy and builds on previous studies carried out in the area. We welcome and appreciate the partnership with the NTA in developing the strategy, which covers the city and the surrounding hinterland from Barna to Moycullen, Oranmore and Claregalway.

Mr. Finn will take the committee through the key features of the strategy but, fundamentally, it provides benefits to regional and intercity bus services via cross-city links; bus priority measures; interchange between regional bus and rail services and the city bus network via a hub in the city centre; park-and-ride sites on key strategic corridor approaches; cross-city bus services between Barna and Oranmore; the N6-Galway city ring road scheme will enhance connectivity to the western region; and the proposed cycle network includes integration with potential greenways to Moycullen and Barna and the Dublin-Galway greenway. The strategy was put in place following extensive consultation and developed using the NTA's new and bespoke model for the west. It is evidence-based and it uses a comprehensive demand management analysis, which uses key census data. A number of new bus networks are at its core. The reconfiguration and rationalisation of bus routes in the city will provide, for example, three connections from the west of the city to the Parkmore area.