Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Bus shelters are a basic infrastructure. They’re structures with roofs that keep people dry while waiting for a bus. Some bus shelters have seats. Many newer ones provide real-time information on bus arrival times.

In Galway, though, we just can’t seem to master delivery of bus shelters. Firstly, it’s been evident for a long time that Galway does not have enough of them. Bearna, for example, has been waiting years to get one.

Galway West TD John Connolly (FF) recently announced that a bus shelter was coming to the village soon. Oughterard was getting its first shelter too. Great news. But it’s hard to believe it has taken decades – and intervention by a Dáil Deputy – to make progress on such a simple piece of infrastructure in two large villages in Conamara.

During the boom and again in recent years, Galway County Council approved planning permissions for developments along the R336 in Bearna but evidently never thought to include the provision of bus shelters among the planning conditions. Nor did they use the hundreds of thousands of euro in development levies they collected to provide bus shelters themselves.

And then they wonder why people who own vehicles prefer to drive into Galway, rather than wait in the pissing rain for the 424 Conamara bus that could be full by the time it reaches Bearna.

On the city’s east side, they have the opposite problem. Out there, they have bus shelters that are surplus to requirements. That’s according to Councillor Shane Forde (FG), who told the latest Galway City East local area meeting that bus shelters at Rosshill and Sandyvale are dormant and should be removed.

The history of the bus shelter in Rosshill is comical. It was installed about 15 years ago but apparently has never been serviced by a bus. This is because a low bridge along the road – in place for the guts of a century – is too low to allow double-decker buses pass.

Councillor Forde wants the phantom bus shelter relocated from Rosshill so it gets used. Any chance it could be sent to Bearna or Oughterard?

The Sandyvale bus shelter on Headford Road is a joke, too. Councillor Forde said buses don’t stop at the bus shelter in Sandyvale – the bus stop is located further back the road – and so it, too, is dormant.

And then his colleague, Councillor Alan Cheevers (FF) revealed that a bus shelter that was installed in Ballybane over a year ago, was removed to make way for an Active Travel scheme to improve cycling and walking.

The preferred route for the Active Travel scheme was known when the bus shelter opposite the shopping centre in Ballybane was installed, and yet they ploughed on, wasting taxpayers’ money.

You couldn’t make it up. If we can’t sort simple stuff like bus shelters, how do we expect to deliver big ticket items like the Gluas light rail or ring road?

Pictured: The bus shelter in Rosshill that was installed about 15 years ago and has lain idle since.