The Browne Roundabout will not be replaced with a traffic light junction, Galway City Council has confirmed, after it unveiled ‘interim’ proposals to make the Newcastle junction safer for pedestrians and cyclists by this summer.

Six roundabouts (Martin, Briarhill, Morris, Font, Kirwan, and Bodkin) have already been converted to signalised junctions as part of the N6 Multi-Modal Corridor Improvement Scheme and the Browne Roundabout was the next and final in line to be removed.

But Head of Transport Uinsinn Finn confirmed at a City Council meeting this week that the “emerging preferred option” was to retain the roundabout at Corrib Park, to the rear of University Hospital Galway.

The long-term plan, he said, was to construct a new link road off the Seamus Quirke Road into the UHG campus, providing a corridor for public transport and emergency services to access the city centre via hospital grounds.

He was replying to Councillor Niall Murphy (Green), who asked if the long-term plan was a return to a ‘hybrid’ junction (both roundabout and traffic lights), which had been removed from Headford Road some years ago. This was confirmed.

Mr Finn also confirmed to Councillor Frank Fahy (FG) that the Council had “agreement in principle” with the HSE to use the UHG site as a transport corridor but conceded there may not be written agreement.
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