Council want to improve Salthill

Parking is a fuckin joke in Salthill, I was there on Bank Holiday, multiple machines out of order, no tap to pay, signs to use an app, which is fine if you are a resident but for someone visiting its awkward. Any you have to keep feeding the machine every 2 hours with coins ffs in this day and age!!

The real joke with Salthill parking is that, even with a huge amount of free legal parking spaces, you'll still see so many lazy inconsiderate drivers parking instead on double yellow lines, or even on pedestrian crossings, to save themselves an extra 20 second walk. They know that the chances of getting a ticket are close to zero because the Gardai in Salthill don't seem to care and the Council wardens seem to concentrate on people overstaying in paid spaces.

The lack of investment in the city, as a whole, is striking. It's as if Galway is a deadbeat dad 2 payments behind on child support and on the verge of bankruptcy, so be happy with the bare minimum.

The potential of the city is huge. It's so walkable, it's the only city in Ireland that is actually built on the coast meaning you can walk from the centre to a beach (or south park area) in less than 30 minutes. It needs major modernizing though. Seems to me to be a general lack of civic pride in Galway.

Some context to the debate - the last real major Developments of the PROM was 1940/50's

Good article here

https://www.rte.ie/culture/2024/0803/1460847-100-buildings-the-galway-shelters-and-the-bishops-portholes/

The idea of a hoist is a lovely, romantic idea. In reality, if one was installed… it would get damaged (from salt) in a very short length of time… Mary will be hoisted down some day and PLOP…. next thing…. CLAIM!

"Oh but sure anyone worth their salt (pun intended) will just install a stainless hoist" … yeah, a storm will come in, bouncing the structure round like no tomorrow… no flex…. CRACK… or / and …. anchor bolts will get stretched and…. rather than having flex…. POP!

If I were in a position to need a hoist (touch wood), i'd be looking for more calm waters, rather than Blackrock, which leaves the most able bodied challenged, at times! (By all means, please install a ramp from the prom, to the tower… that would have made the roller-blading days much more fun, back in my day!)

Let's not even bother wasting our time debating on H&S BS on 'who will wo(man) the hoist' / 'who will be insured to operate the hoist' … the list goes on (unfortunately)! …. few lads from the Council standing down there from sunlight to sunset?!

i'm surprised that the tower isn't a listed structure at this point. It's become an iconic symbol/image of salthill.

A new one..really..how so?

Apart from Dublin, obviously.

1. pedestrianising Cross Street and redirecting traffic from Middle Street
2. school street on Raleigh Row
3. improved junction at the top of Sea Road
4. summer pedestrianisation of West End and Woodquay for outdoor dining

Those are the first things that spring to mind, and all of them were done in a half-assed way, but they are improvements over what was there before.

Dublin Road bus lane.

Forster Street bus lane.

Street cleaning every morning, including regularly "shampooing" Eyre Square (Yeah, it's not new. But many people don't realise just how BADDDD things would be if they didn't do it.)

Lots of work in parks and sportsgrounds around the city, eg I think it's a running track at Westside, outdoor gym in Roscam, seating in Merlin Woods.

Flood barrier on Spanish Arch (yeah, it's ugly. But it's less ugly than continually-flooded buildings).

More/bigger bus shelters at the top of Parkmore Road, and pedestrian lights at Briarhill business park.

To be fair, I think those box-rentals in the public parks where the public can rent footballs, hurleys, frisbees etc, for free, are great.

Fishing from the prom has always been a thing as long as I've lived here. Why would it be prohibited?