What Galway needs?

franj

Think I've seen a thread like this before but what do ye guys reckon Galway needs, be it entertainment, shop wise etc? Or something thats there thats not done well enough?

sgthighway

Halfords
KFC
Ice Rink/Roller Rink Venue
Paint Ball Venue

ronnie3585

A proper infrastructure and public transport system.

Daily hangings of the tree hugging b*stards holding up the above.

dmcg90

H&M
Starbucks/Costa
JJB
D2
Proper Ice Cream place
Bigger River Island and Schuch (the Galway one is tiny)
Urban Outfitters (long shot I know)
Clockwork Orange
a HMV that you could swing a cat in
and a new tesco

m83

MOAR WIMMINS!!

Mrs OBumble

Jobs!

Preferrably not just mcjobs type ones.

galwayrush

A multifunction arena that can cater for expos and be adapted for seated concerts from 1500 to 5000 capacity.
By-pass .
New docks so the old docks area can be a proper inner city marina.

snubbleste

Enforced road traffic laws

Malice

ronnie3585 wrote: »

A proper infrastructure and public transport system.

JustMary wrote: »

Jobs!

Preferrably not just mcjobs type ones.

I was going to say the above. Definitely the infrastructure though.

Madame Razz

I second the proper infrastructure/public transport.

But also a Halfords and a decent Tesco would be nice, preferrably one with a fuel station.

And a few more decent restaurants.


Can't see any of the above happening any time soon tho:rolleyes:

LadyMayBelle

H+M
Zara
Less overpriced boutiques
More coffee shops and ones that stay open like the old Javas and Scribbles cafe

Louocb

Galway definatley needs H&M and Zara they are my favourite.;)

What Galway needs? A way to get rid of that horrible stench that hangs around Corbett Court/Brown Thomas!

jd007

I'd love if KFC came to Galway. Would'nt mind a Harvey Norman either.

jd007

jd007 wrote: »

I'd love if KFC came to Galway. Would'nt mind a Harvey Norman either.

But why does Galway need more fast food restaurants? I honestly think one of the good things about this city is that there aren't chains everywhere

RobAMerc

Galway needs a decent shopping centre or something like it - the likes of the Dundrum town centre.

For a town that gets so much rain you'd expect them to build somewhere people could go and spend a wet afternoon in

The muppets in Council ain't going to build anything like that thats non commercial - so a commercial venture with shops with some entertainment added would have to do.

kippy

Some of these mentioned before.

1. A complete and well thought out docks area upgrade. What the area was like for the VOR was an example of how it could be all the time. Pleasure boats and a scenic area for the population.
2. While the bus service isnt actually THAT bad, it isnt used that much, and the reasons for this need to be looked into. A decent bus service would be the bare minimum for infrastructure, I'm not sure if the layout of the city/population would justify the cost of a light rail system.
3. A fully functioning and accountable city council or whatever they call the gang that get elected annually. They spend more time arguing and bickering than anything else and are a complete waste of time in my opinion.
4. A better town planning/engineering section in the council. Some of the money wasted on various projects in this city in the past few years has been nothing short of criminal.

3 and 4, would in itself lead to massive improvements around and about the city.

I dont give a toss for shops to be honest. We've enough overpriced rag traders round the place as it is.

Madame Razz

kippy wrote: »

Some of these mentioned before.

1. A complete and well thought out docks area upgrade. What the area was like for the VOR was an example of how it could be all the time. Pleasure boats and a scenic area for the population.
2. While the bus service isnt actually THAT bad, it isnt used that much, and the reasons for this need to be looked into. A decent bus service would be the bare minimum for infrastructure, I'm not sure if the layout of the city/population would justify the cost of a light rail system.
3. A fully functioning and accountable city council or whatever they call the gang that get elected annually. They spend more time arguing and bickering than anything else and are a complete waste of time in my opinion.
4. A better town planning/engineering section in the council. Some of the money wasted on various projects in this city in the past few years has been nothing short of criminal.

3 and 4, would in itself lead to massive improvements around and about the city.

I dont give a toss for shops to be honest. We've enough overpriced rag traders round the place as it is.

100% percent agree with this post.

I'm not too pushed about shops either, however I do think the ones I mentioned in my previous post would be a good addition to the city.

mashling

+1 on a coffee place with comfy couches that stays open after 6pm. I do like Javas but sometimes its so jammed in there.

If only Starbucks/Costa would take over that ugly nightclub on Shop St and fill it with lovely couches and skinny peach muffins *sigh*

galvianlord

Deleted User wrote: »

But why does Galway need more fast food restaurants? I honestly think one of the good things about this city is that there aren't chains everywhere

there are also **** all indepdent local retailers that remain open in the city centre in recent months....lots shut down for a variety of reasons....the one good thing about chains is that they would bring in more shoppers and have a positive knock-on effect for the other local retailers, who either up the ante or die! anything is better than what's there at the moment - a stagnating city centre!

Madame Razz

Personally I couldn't care less if Starbucks or Costa ever came to Galway tbh. Over priced and over-rated methinks.

Robbo

Madame Razz wrote: »

Personally I couldn't care less if Starbucks or Costa ever came to Galway tbh. Over priced and over-rated methinks.

Starbucks don't sell coffee. They sell coffee themed milk drinks for people who don't like coffee.

I want municipal snipers in the middle of roundabouts, picking off the tyres of those who can't drive properly. They wouldn't cost that much, in fact someone with the mentality to like airsoft would probably do it for free. In addition, their quarters can be made of recycled election posters and they'll scavenge their food like something from a Ballard novel.

biko

Galway needs:

• A wider Cathedral bridge + another bridge over the Corrib
• Light rail
• Activities for young scumbags to keep them from developing into young criminals and then older dangerous criminals.
• Maoz falafel

topper75

Shocked and disapppointed at the number of posters clamouring for more UK/US chain stores.

Begs the question for me - what are you doing living in Galway? Surely Galway's appeal is the lack thereof!!! Aren't you people aware of the other places you could move to if that is seriously your buzz?

Bypass is defo the most urgent request for me. Second would be a nice park near to the city, as opposed to Renvyle (half way to Clare).

Simius Puer

A big yes to improved transport infrastructure and public services. I've never been in a city so small with such a disproportionately large traffic problem.

In particular: a properly planned road network (stop the council putting in round-abouts as a solution to everything); fixing all the massive potholes everywhere; a decent public transport system including light rail links to all the big commuter towns...most days the traffic coming in on the N59 is back as far as Rahoon (1/3 of the way to Moycullen)!!

Also some decent parking - most of the carparks are shabby as hell and charge a fortune.

A closer reign on developers when they finally start building again...too many horrible little estates that are poorly planned and have bad facilities. All that leads to in the long term is a deterioration of an area, crime and anti-social behaviour in particular.

A big no to Starbucks. If you are going to ask for more coffee shops at least choose a decent one

A Halfords would be handy, but I'd rather support local businesses first.

Webbs

galvianlord wrote: »

there are also **** all indepdent local retailers that remain open in the city centre in recent months....lots shut down for a variety of reasons....the one good thing about chains is that they would bring in more shoppers and have a positive knock-on effect for the other local retailers, who either up the ante or die! anything is better than what's there at the moment - a stagnating city centre!

This would produce as has been shown in every major town or city a complete removal of all local retailers as rents which are already crippling for independent retailers would increase more, so that only faceless chains could move in removing any individuality that makes Galway what it is.
For the city centre the opposite is what is needed a reduction in rent allowing more not less independent retailers into the centre and as someone mentioned put a shopping centre out on the outskirts for all the chain stores.

Oh and please please no Starbucks they are the worst coffee shop out there ( I use the word coffee and starbucks together in the loosest possible sense)

leex

1. A nice park.
2. Permanent marina as per VOR.
3. Having been in the new Ballinasloe Tesco yesterday, I think the Galway city one is crap.
4. Re-open Clifden railway line - would be an excellent attraction for the area but it's not going to happen due to costs.
5. Another bridge over corrib / new by-pass.

mashling

Yikes I have angered the masses with my mention of Starbucks. Hehe I guess ye can tell I am a tea-drinker.

How about this ->

+1 on a coffee place with comfy couches that stays open after 6pm. I do like Javas but sometimes its so jammed in there.

If only a coffee shop big enough that you could sit there for an hour with a book and not feel in the way kind of like the Starbucks on Princes St. in Edinburgh, i really liked that one would take over that ugly nightclub on Shop St and fill it with lovely couches and skinny peach muffins *sigh*

fend

UUGHHHHH NO MORE COFFEE PLACES!!! AND NO MORE BAPS/PANINI/SANDWICH PLACES!!!!
Are ye not sick of them???????

A Yo Sushi would do the job nicely!!!!!

KevR

• A full outer bypass.
• Seasmus Quirke/Bishop O'Donnell upgrade.
• Grade seperation of as many roundabouts as possible on the existing ring road and install traffic lights where grade seperation is not possible.
• Provision of pedestrian/cyclist bridge crossings on busy routes. This would improve safety for pedestrians/cyclists and help traffic.

For me, traffic and transport problems are the worst thing about Galway by a long shot. The new Waterford City Bypass is opening today and the people down there are saying it will change the lives of the people living there and be a big boost to business in Waterford and the entire South East region. Limerick's new tunnel and ring road will soon be complete. There are plans in Cork to make improvements to their South Ring Road and to eventually build a Northern Ring Road. The M50 upgrade will soon be complete. We are getting left behind here in Galway. Who will want to come and visit Galway when it's such a nightmare compared to other Irish cities? And who will want to do business here when transport is so ineffecient?

?Cee?view

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1019/breaking4.htm

Waterford bypass formally opened



Enough said

ScumLord

More people growing good quality weed and less knacker drugs.

mikom

http://enema.ytmnd.com/

moonflower

Another bridge or two over the Corrib.
More shops, pubs and restaurants outside of town
Somewhere selling sushi. I don't care if it's a chain or somewhere small, just somewhere that doesn't just sell salmon, chicken terriaki, veggie and japanese omlette rolls.
Wagamama
Nandos
Imsonmia
H&M
A bigger HMV and Schuh. Would be nice if HMV would start selling singles again too, I can't be the only person in Galway that likes them?
Womens clothes shop that sells something a bit different but not expensive, ie somewhere that isn't selling all the same bodycon dress and Rare, Motel and Only stuff that seems to be in every single clothes shop in town.
A few more late opening cafes. I love Java's but it gets packed and it's really not ideal if you're in a hurry.
More & cheaper buses. €1.60 is a crazy price to go a mile or two on a bus that you've been waiting an hour for. Night buses would be nice too, even if they just kept going til 12 or 1 and started up again around 5 or 6.
Get rid of the weird smell on shop street.

I don't ask for much, do I?

KevR

What is that smell on shop street and where is it coming from?

It's aweful.

I was thinking it could be the bins (i.e - that they aren't being emptied regularly enough); but then surely there would be the same smell in other parts of town.

pleasant Co.

KevR wrote: »

What is that smell on shop street and where is it coming from?

It's aweful.

I was thinking it could be the bins (i.e - that they aren't being emptied regularly enough); but then surely there would be the same smell in other parts of town.

sewage system

Skyuser

More roundabouts. The current 3,422 roundabouts are not enough.

4zn76tysfajdxp

I think that there should be more political activists, artists and buskers clogging up Shop Street on the weekends.

KevR

And more people standing in a massive circle blocking the whole street watching a crappy street performer.

pleasant Co.

So grumpy

Madame Razz

topper75 wrote: »

Shocked and disapppointed at the number of posters clamouring for more UK/US chain stores.

Begs the question for me - what are you doing living in Galway? Surely Galway's appeal is the lack thereof!!! Aren't you people aware of the other places you could move to if that is seriously your buzz?

Galway is a city yet we don't even have a decent supermarket. Tesco has better stores in Ballinasloe, Clonmel and Killarney, yet we get stuck with a ****hole, despite having a much bigger population. Added to which Tesco let you use your clubcard for fuel purchases at their service stations, which given the amount of fuel I go thru would simply be MADE of win, AND they make the local service stations cop on in terms of their prices, which would be no bad thing in Galway. I have zero problem supporting Irish stores, but sorry, as supermarkets go Dunnes and Supervalu are distinctly lack lustre versus the selection in Tesco, particularly if you're any way into cooking. I'd shop in Superquinn if we had one but we don't.

And a Halfords would be bloody handy. At least there I could go in and buy the oil I need without being sneered at because I'm female and in a 'mans' domain:rolleyes:

Zzippy

• Better infrastructure
  
• Better public transport
  
• A council that is run properly - i.e. doesn't **** up a reasonably working junction with one that is a total disaster, or doesn't squander millions on urban regeneration projects (Eyre Square)
  
• Shoot Michael Crowe, Padraig Conneely and most of the rest of the retard councillors. Or just put them in stocks on a Saturday afternoon and provide free rotten tomatoes to the public.
  
• No more chain shops, Shop/High St already resembles Main St., Milton on Keynes as it is.
  
• New harbour development to go ahead, freeing up the current dock for marina development. Deepening of existing channel/dock to allow access at all stages of the tide.
  
• A conference/concert venue at the docks, where the VOR race village was.
  
• Once infrastructure is in place, extend pedestrianised areas to Middle St., Augustine St, Eyre Square, Eglinton St., Bridge St., Lombard St., Market St, Bowling Green, with only deliveries and resident access permitted.
  
• Extend the prom to Silverstrand in a continuous trail for joggers, cyclists, walkers etc.
  
• Create a continuous riverside walk from city centre to Dangan
  
• Monorail. Monorail. Monorail.

Madame Razz

• A council that is run properly - i.e. doesn't **** up a reasonably working junction with one that is a total disaster, or doesn't squander millions on urban regeneration projects (Eyre Square)
  
• Shoot Michael Crowe, Padraig Conneely and most of the rest of the retard councillors. Or just put them in stocks on a Saturday afternoon and provide free rotten tomatoes to the public.
  

Stocks; I like it

• No more chain shops, Shop/High St already resembles Main St., Milton on Keynes as it is.
  

Please Please PLease don't liken Galway to Milton Keynes!!! Mind you, we have nearly as many roundabouts!

• Extend the prom to Silverstrand in a continuous trail for joggers, cyclists, walkers etc.
  
• Create a continuous riverside walk from city centre to Dangan
  

Brilliant idea.

Ditto for a decent concert hall.

siltirocker

I'll tell you what Galway doesn't need, a KFC restaurant, there is a reason that they aren't as popular in Ireland as oppose to other places. And i find when someone disagrees with that all you have to do is treat them to €6.95 half cooked Chicken drumstick, 17 skinny fries, and a coke portion consiting of ice and almost nothing else. Tends to convert. People calling for more coffee bars, nightclubs, sandwitch bars, japanese/chinese/oriental eateries, fast food joints, etc. Are you serious, we already have these, we don't need more.

What this city needs is another social spot like Long Walk/SpArch & Eyre Square (maybe along the docks), a direct route to Athlone, a bridge over the Corrib at maybe Annaghdown or something a single purpose music venue and , oh i dunno, a lite railway in the city.

What it doesn't need is a Dundrum-esqe centre, or (couldn't believe i read this) a HMV Superstore.

btw all Zara stock is in Galway Shopping Centre & Anthony Ryans i have just been informed.

galwayrush

There are plans for a massive upgrade of the Headford Rd shopping centre with a rebuilt Tesco and a massive M&S. I expect the usual serial objectors to try and stop it.
My biggest bone of contention is the same names crop up every time to try and stop anything that is proposed for the City, the by pass being one example. Perhaps getting rid of these space cadets would be the kick start the city needs.

I would like to see people urged out of their cars - higher parking charges, more BIK on parking spaces, taking road lanes away from private traffic, more enforcement of traffic laws, more traffic lights.

Fuinseog

Louocb wrote: »

Galway definatley needs H&M and Zara they are my favourite.;)

what about a shoppin centre, a real one like Dundrum

Madame Razz

galwayrush wrote: »

There are plans for a massive upgrade of the Headford Rd shopping centre with a rebuilt Tesco and a massive M&S. I expect the usual serial objectors to try and stop it.
My biggest bone of contention is the same names crop up every time to try and stop anything that is proposed for the City, the by pass being one example. Perhaps getting rid of these space cadets would be the kick start the city needs.

But even if this plan does go ahead, how long would it even take to complete??

Madame Razz

Madame Razz wrote: »

I have zero problem supporting Irish stores, but sorry, as supermarkets go Dunnes and Supervalu are distinctly lack lustre versus the selection in Tesco, particularly if you're any way into cooking. I'd shop in Superquinn if we had one but we don't.

I have to disagree. I think tesco is an awful place(in general not just in galway) Dunnes is better but I prefer to shop in supervalue. They are usually smaller and easier to get around yet have everything I look for. They also have meat counter which Dunnes or Tesco do not have in a lot of places(like in Cork for instance).

I know my mother has the same opinion on Tesco she wouldn't go in the door of the place she says they have very little in there and what they have is not great.

On the topic of what Galway needs. A proper airport where Ryanair etc could land and make flying from Galway affordable.

Madame Razz

Kora Nutty Semicircle wrote: »

I have to disagree. I think tesco is an awful place(in general not just in galway) Dunnes is better but I prefer to shop in supervalue. They are usually smaller and easier to get around yet have everything I look for. They also have meat counter which Dunnes or Tesco do not have in a lot of places(like in Cork for instance).

I know my mother has the same opinion on Tesco she wouldn't go in the door of the place she says they have very little in there and what they have is not great.

I would NEVER buy meat in a supermarket tbh.

agsiul

Galway should have a proper botanical gardens. It should be walled and locked at night so that it isn't full of needles in the morning. There should be proper staff employed to take care of it. It should have trees, flowers, plants, a greenhouse, etc. so that people who don't have a garden have a nice place to go when the weather is reasonable. It wouldn't have to be as big as the one in Dublin. The one in Belfast is a perfect size. It is well maintained and when the weather is good people sit out on the grass and enjoy the sunshine. this is what they should have done with the money they spent on eyre square.