Public money has been used to resurface and repaint private car parking spaces as part of a city ‘active travel’ scheme.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has confirmed it paid €300,000 to Galway City Council in 2023 to progress the ‘Safe Routes to School’ project at Scoil Iognáid (Jes primary school) at Raleigh Row.

And Galway City Council has confirmed that it used some of that money to pay for repaving and painting private car parking spaces, owned by the primary school and used by teaching staff.

The City Council said it installed new bollards that Scoil Iognáid had procured. The local authority also funded repaving and repainting work on the car parking spaces as part of the scheme, designed to encourage more people to walk and cycle to school rather than travel by car.

Prior to work beginning last September, these car parking spaces were accessible to the public outside of school hours. But now the eight parking spaces are cordoned off for staff and have new key-operated bollards.

A spokesperson for the City Council said it paid for the works as part of an Active Travel project, involving a partnership between NTA, the Council, the school, and An Taisce Green Schools.

“In line with An Taisce’s proposals, the footway to the rear of the parking area has been resurfaced and widened to facilitate safe pedestrian and cycle access to the school. This required alterations to the parking area which has now been resurfaced and repainted as part of these works.

“Bollards procured by the school have been installed by Galway City Council, ensuring they would not negatively impact on the front of school design, or on the objectives of the Safe Routes to School scheme, namely the removal of traffic from outside of the school at peak times and encouraging a modal shift to walking and cycling,” the City Council said.

Pictured: Car parking spaces outside Scoil Iognáid have been cordoned off by key-operated bollards, which were installed using public money. The spaces, which had been available to the public outside of school hours for three decades, are now off limits. PHOTO: JOE O’SHAUGHNESSY.