Submission

re: N6 Galway City Transport Project

By: Niall Tuathail, 8 The Crescent, Galway

After years of poor urban planning and delaying decisions on long-term solutions,
Galway traffic has reached chronic levels. This has resulted in the people of
Galway wasting their time stuck on the roads instead of being with loved ones, a
dampening of our local economy and a limiting of our citys ability to grow and
attract investment. An online poll in the Galway City Tribune found that less than
20% of Galwegians wanted a public transport only solution or Galway doesnt
need a bypass we want a solution to our traffic problems and we need it soon
rather than later.

Source: Galway City Tribune

Public transport is always going to be part of the solution but unlikely to be all of
the solution. A major investment in Light Rail seems to be poor value for money
only 53 cents benefit for every euro invested and is likely to cause large
disruption to city traffic during construction. This is a pity given the
environmental benefits of rail.

Source: Galway Public Transport Feasibility Study March 2010

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Bus Rapid Transit may contribute to the solution and, according to the study, has
1.75 euros of benefit for every euro invested. However, when we look a typical
journey time including 10-20 minutes of walking to stations and waiting for buses
on top of the actual journey time, it is likely that most people will prefer to go
door-to-door in cars and public transport improvements will not result in a large
enough traffic reduction to benefit the city.

As illustrated in the Galway Public Transport Feasibility Study 2010 below, many
of the common commutes cross the Corrib River. With very limited bridge
capacity, a new bridge and road bypass is likely to be part of the solution to our
traffic problems.

Source: Galway Public Transport Feasibility Study March 2010

It is not an easy task to find a route for this type of infrastructure. This is
especially true of Galway, given our poor urban planning, the Corrib River being
so short and the significant environmental constraints in likely route areas. It is
therefore likely to be unavoidable that family homes will be affected directly
both through compulsory purchase orders and through family homes remaining
along the route being exposed to increased noise levels and reductions in the
value of their property.

Given the importance of this project to commuters and the impact to those who
have homes along the selected route, world-class public consultation and
engagement is vital. In the spirit of informing public debate, I asked Arup some
essential questions (full text of questions and responses in Appendix) that I would
expect to have been studied before any proposal of routes was made to the public.
For example:

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Do the proposed routes have significantly different impacts on traffic? Not

known yet
How many houses are within close proximity to the routes and, under
current plans, are not going to receive any compensation despite a very
likely decrease in their property values? Not known yet
What impact would changes in technology, such as driverless cars, have on
the road capacity we need? Not known yet
What impact would taking demand management seriously have on the
road capacity we need? Not known yet
Do the different routes have significantly different cost-benefit outcomes?
Not known yet

It is very hard to have a meaningful public consultation on this basis and the
process has rightly frustrated people, so much so that public support for the
project is going to be difficult to achieve. However, I believe it is wrong to simply
restart the process as this will result in many more years of chronic traffic. In
order to rectify this situation and rebuild trust in this project, my
recommendations are the following:
1. Establish public workshops to exhaustively explore alternative
routes we need to have public confidence that all possible routes have
been explored and it isnt clear whether there are ten or zero alternative
routes available. Public workshops should be held to develop alternative
routes and help people understand the constraints that are put on route
designs.
2. Complete and publish detailed studies of route options and start a
new public consultation period we cannot have a proper public
discussion until we know more about the impact of the routes on traffic
levels, peoples homes, the environment, and cost-benefit.
3. Appoint another consulting engineering firm to provide a
constructive challenge and second opinion to the project engineer
while this will be uncomfortable for the project team, it would be a
welcome step to boost public confidence in the methodology employed
and should result in a better standard of project, particularly in the public
consultation component. I believe it would be a wise investment
4. Establish guiding priorities and weights of each priority on the route
selection methodology before a route is selected these priorities
should include maximising the reduction in journey time, minimising the
impact on peoples homes, maximising return on investment, and
minimising the impact on public amenities. These priorities and the weight
of each priority should have some level of public support and consensus
before the final route selection is done in a transparent manner.
5. Give clarity on compensation to those affected the potential forced
sale of a family home has a huge impact on family finances, particularly
those in negative equity, and there should be clarity and comfort given to
potentially affected families on the compensation programme. It is not
currently proposed to compensate families that are within close proximity
to the route this is unfair as their property value will be affected and
adequate compensation levels for them should be proposed.



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Appendix - Questions asked of APUP and answers provided

Question 1 - Could you please provide a table showing total numbers of journeys
during peak hours with a break down of starting point, end point, journey time and
route corridor?
This information is not available at this time as we are working on this detail. All the
traffic modelling assumptions and results will be published in the Route Selection
Report for the project.
Question 2 - For each proposed bypass route, what is estimated demand shift to the
new route during peak hours and what will the average journey time be during peak
hours?
As part of the route selection report, full details of the traffic models will be presented
which will contain the data you have requested. Unfortunately this work is still
ongoing at this point of the process.
Question 3 - For each proposed bypass route, how long will the construction works
take and what will be the impact on average peak hour journey time during this period?
At present it is estimated that the construction duration for the entire scheme would be
in the order of 3 years for the off-line options with the Red Option likely extend over a
further period due to traffic management restrictions.
Question 4 - For each proposed bypass route, how many houses are within 150m and
500m of the fenceline?
We have a preliminary estimate of the number of acquisitions for each of the routes at
this point, which is representative of homes within a 10m buffer zone of the extent of
the earthworks as shown on the public consultation graphics. However this is subject
to change when detailed design of the preferred route commences and accommodation
works are included to minimise these impacts. The preliminary figures are below
Red Option 120 no.
Green Option 100 no.
Blue/Pink/Yellow & Orange Options 50 no.

Question 5 - Without noise screens what is the expected noise level during early
morning and early evening times at distances of 20, 50, 100, and 500 meters from the
fenceline? What is the noise level with screens in place? What are typical background
noise levels in a rural area?
The levels of noise generated is dependent on multiple factors, such as road level
relative to the surrounding ground, distance of receptor from noise source, height of the
building, etc. Therefore, we cannot provide definitive levels for your queries; in fact, it
is never possible to give a generic answer to such a query as it is always different for
each location and each receptor. However, a preliminary noise assessment is underway
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presently for each of the options and this will be documented in the Route Selection
Report. In addition noise will be assessed fully as part of the detailed design on the
preferred route and the results will be presented in the Environmental Impact
Statement.
Question 6 - Should there be a decision made to develop alternative routes, how long
do you estimate this process will take?
It is our intention to select the emerging preferred route by April 2015 with a planning
application being lodged to An Bord Pleanala at the end of Quarter 4 2015.
Question 7 - Has the potential impact of driverless cars been modelled? If there were
significant gains in road utilisation through greater use of length and width of the road
what would the impact be on the road capacity needed? How sensitive is the capacity
need and cost-benefit analysis of the bypass to this scenario?
We will certainly convey this option to the traffic modellers for their consideration.
Question 8 - What would the cost of a light rail system be that would give similar
levels of traffic relief (if possible?). What are the typical costs per km of line and per
station? Are there cities of comparable size and planning legacies that have
implemented light rail? As a concrete example, how might the average journey time of
a person living in Knocknacarra 10 minutes walk from a light rail station and working
in Parkmore differ from the same car journey?
The cost of light rail vs BRT was debated in the document titled Galway Public
Transport Feasibility Study of 2010 by MVA Consultancy as follows:
The capital cost estimates associated with the implementation of the Rapid Transit
Corridor, as either BRT or LRT are:
a. BRT system implementation = 115 million, and
b. LRT system implementation = 699 million.
MVA are now trading under their overall company name, Systra, and are also engaged
as our traffic consultants on this project. They are engaged in updating these costs at
this time.
The development of a multi-modal model which is capable of assessing other transport
modes including bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, park and ride, etc. is a significant
advancement in terms of traffic modelling on this scheme. This traffic model is a
demand model and therefore continuously iterates in journey choice based on cost and
travel times. It allows us to test various scenarios and to calculate the journey times via
the various modes with the ultimate choice being made depending on the cost and time
taken to complete the journey.
Question 9 - Has a study been done on demand management potential (e.g., working
with businesses to stagger working hours, carpooling, remote working, corporate
shuttle buses)? In your opinion, what is the potential impact and feasibility of such
measures? Is the capacity required sensitive to this in any respect?
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This is being tested and modelled as part of the on-going work as per the requirements
of the Project Appraisal Guidelines and will be documented in the Route Selection
Report. In the meantime, you may be interested in reading the earlier studies on this
carried out by MVA as part of the 2010 study Galway Public Transport Feasibility
Study as addresses much of your queries in this regard.
Question 10 - Has there been any study done to assess the impact of the bypass project
on road safety? Is the likelihood for serious accidents higher as a result of greater
speeds through the bypass?
Road Safety A road safety audit of the preferred route design will be carried out.
Equally, the cost benefit analysis which will be prepared for each option will outline
the cost savings due to accident reduction on the various options. The full details of
the accident savings for each option is then documented as part of the project appraisal
balance sheet.
Question 11 - What is the expected economic gain from the project? What was the
breakdown of this economic gain and what methodology was used?
As part of the route selection stage, full cost benefit analysis for each of the options is
currently being undertaken. This is undertaken using a software package called
TUBA.This is in line with Stage 2 assessment of the options which is set out in the
National Roads Authority Project Management Guidelines. This will be published in
our Route Selection report in May 2015. This is critical to advancement of any project,
as a project has to justify the cost in terms of benefits gained.
Question 12 - In the cost-benefit analysis of the project, was the economic loss of the
Galway Races included? Should the bypass go through public amenities (e.g., Dangan
Pitches) has land been identified and funding allocated in the project budget for
equivalent facilities? How has the loss of these public amenities been valued?
The racecourse will experience some impact as it is close to all 6 of the options. As
part of any construction works, landowner accommodation works will be put in place
to minimise the impact and disruption experienced. It is not envisaged that the Galway
Races will be postponed or cancelled as a result of this project. The racecourse
currently has a number of tunnels beneath its track. Negotiations between landowners
and the design team will take place, regarding accommodation works on the preferred
route, throughout the scheme. This applies to both the NUIG sporting facilities at
Dangan and the Racecourse which you have mentioned. Equally, it is possible to have
replacement facilities in place in advance of removal of the original facilities through
advance works contracts should such an issue arise.

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