BY FRANK FARRAGHER AND DARA BRADLEY

TRAFFIC gridlock hit the city again with a vengeance on Friday, forcing Health Minister, James Reilly ‘to leg it’ for the final two miles of his journey to University Hospital Galway (UHG) . . . two hours late for an important meeting.

After being stuck in his ministerial car for nearly two hours on the edge of the city, Minister Reilly, alighted from his vehicle at the Menlo Park Hotel Roundabout at around 5.30pm and walked to the hospital.
He had been due to meet the new CEO of UHG, Bill Maher, at 4pm but the official car got clogged up in one of the city’s notorious traffic jams on the Tuam Road shortly after 3.30pm.

Two hours later, the traffic was jammed solid at the Menlo Park Hotel Roundabout and Minister Reilly, along with his secretary, walked to the hospital where they arrived at 6pm – two hours behind schedule.
The Minister had also hoped to make a ‘drop in’ visit to the Galway Hospice on the Dublin Road later on Friday evening, but this had to be abandoned because of the delay.

There were also reports of key medical personnel not being able to travel between Merlin Park and UHG on Friday because of the traffic snarl-up that went on from mid-day until after 6pm.

Some of the reasons put forward for the traffic snarl-up were the large city funeral that morning, the wet day, and the mid-term school break that often coincides with casual shopping trips to the city. The Nuns Island roadway was also closed for roadworks on Friday.

However the Chairperson of the HSE West, Regional Health Forum, Padraig Conneely, said that the problem of traffic getting completely blocked up in the city was now happening with far too much regularity.
“The traffic was shocking on Friday but this is a regular occurrence and no one seems either to have any answers or to take responsibility.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.