Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

As September draws to a close, this weekend marks the final hurrah for nightly street closures ‘back West’.

They plan to go out with a bang, weather permitting, as the last days of outdoor drinking and dining in 2025 coincides with the Galway International Oyster Festival.

Without a marquee this year, the Festival has moved into town. Instead of in a tent at The Swamp, the molluscs will be celebrated in pubs, restaurants and on streets, including in the so-called ‘Westend’.

The ‘outdoor living enhancement scheme’, to give it its full Galway City Council title, finished up in Woodquay at the beginning of September.

And as roads in both areas revert to vehicular traffic only, now is as good a time as any to review the scheme.

It got off to a very shaky start in both places  this year. The one back West was almost derailed by a Judicial Review. That was until deals were brokered, including by the then Social Democrat City Councillor, Eibhlín Seoighthe, and others.

The Woodquay scheme didn’t go smoothly either. Some non-hospitality businesses in that area were angry that they were not properly consulted.

They felt aggrieved that pubs were getting preferential treatment, while their businesses suffered from removal of parking spaces and street closures. Then there was the thorny issue of pubs not having licences for tables and chairs when the roads closed initially.

There was a whiff of lastminute.com and ‘ah sure, it’ll be grand’ about the schemes in both areas.

It’s tempting to say ‘all’s well that ends well’ and move on. But if the Council does that, it is destined to repeat the same mistakes that have been made every year since temporary street pedestrianisations were introduced during Covid-19.

When the dust settles on the closures in the coming weeks, City Hall needs to carry out a comprehensive review. Warts and all.

The review must be honest. It must identify shortcomings as well as the benefits. Otherwise, it cannot be improved. And boy, is there scope for improvement.

And if it’s not improved, all of a sudden May 2026 will be upon us and they’ll be putting ads in the paper, announcing road closures and won’t have consulted with businesses or residents.

As referenced here before, the Council is flat out doing public consultations. Why not seek feedback on the outdoor living enhancement scheme?

With respect to the decision makers in City Hall, many of them don’t live in Woodquay or back West or in Galway City.

Ask people who live, work and socialise in those areas how they think the scheme could be improved. Should it be scrapped altogether? Or should they go the whole hog and permanently pedestrianise those areas? What additions would help most people agree a middle ground?

Whatever they do, let them not come back next May with half-baked plans, that’ll piss everyone off again and do more damage than good.

Pictured: All shuck up! Mayor Mike Cubbard and Councillor Niall McNelis publicising this weekend’s Galway International Oyster Festival. The Council needs to ensure a comprehensive review of the outdoor living scheme.