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GALWAY CITY COUNCIL ON THE JOURNEY TO NET ZERO EMISSIONS
Greening the Laneways
Galway City Council is partnering with local residents and young people in local areas to ʻgreenʼ city laneways and transform them into vibrant, playful and nature-friendly spaces for all of the community to enjoy.
The premise of the project is for local residents and young people to plant flowers, shrubs and an ʻedible landscapeʼ with the help of Galway City Council Parks staff. Local residents will then take over the maintenance of the planting in the future. Local residents and young people will also be involved in painting vibrant, nature-based murals along the laneways with the help of professional artists. Recent laneways include Sliabh Rua in Ballybane, where residents worked with talented local artist Irene Naughton to create a wonderful mural. The next phase of the project will involve planting native trees and a wildflower garden. See https://youtu.be/aazzWLLckQs Shantallaʼs Red Lane was also recently completed by local residents and artist Sufek West, following an initial Greening the Laneways project at Rocky Road in Westside.
This initiative is funded by the Government of Ireland through Anti-Dumping Initiative Funding.
See www.galwaycity.ie/greening-the-laneways
The Climate Change and Environment department have commenced a trial on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel as an alternative to diesel on a number of Galway City Council larger fleet - inclusive of 15tonne sweepers, 7.5tonne sweeper and 3.5tonne pickups. The scientific evidence indicates that HVO reduces tail pipe emissions by 80-90%. Sampling of tail pipe emissions in the GCC fleet is on-going, and will inform a proposal to change all diesel fleet to HVO. While there is an increased cost associated with utilising HVO fuel, the change would vastly reduce tail pipe emissions and greatly assist in reaching 2030 targets and reduce the need for investment in another ʻgap to targetʼ area.
www.glasdon.com
This year in Galway City, we are seeing the emergence of the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) in a number of the No Mow areas across the city. This aptly named orchid resembles a bumble bee and is an adaptation the flower has developed to attract other bees for pollination purposes. The appearance of this Orchid is a direct result of our reduced mowing regime.
Bee Orchids in Claireview Estate, at City Hall and in Sruthán Mhuirlinne Estate Greening the Laneways
Accessibility and Age-friendly Environments
Galway City Council will shortly open a new Changing Place facility at Ladies Beach, to facilitate people with mobility needs or disabilities, to change in a clean, secure, and comfortable facility, while visiting the beach. Age Friendly seating has also been upgraded along the Prom, to encourage people of all ages to use the facility, which is home to one of Galwayʼs two Blue Flag beaches.
Future projects will review ramps and sand buggies for wheelchairs, as part of an overall accessibility plan for the Prom.
These initiatives build on previous work in Barna Woods, to provide a wheelchair friendly path linking Cappagh Park/ Community Centre and Barna Woods, and a new pedestrian crossing on the Barna Road – a popular route to the Blue Flag Beach at Silverstrand.
GCC is engaging with 10 cafes in the city which have agreed not to sell any single use coffee cups, in line with the recently approved levy on single use cups. ʻMugginsʼ – a giant coffee cup character – is visiting various parts of the city, as part of an awareness campaign to encourage Galwegians to ʻUse Your Mug!ʼ in conjunction with the Galway Volunteer Centre.
Galway City Council canteen is no longer selling drinks from single use cups, with all staff being provided with a reusable cup and water bottle in support of the initiative. Staff can also use their reusable coffee cups in cafes throughout the City, with many places offering a 20 cent discount.
School Streets
Scoil Iognáid, Raleigh Row, became the first pilot ʻSchool Streetsʼ project in Galway, and the first city centre School Streets project in the country in 2020. A ʻSchool Streetʼ is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop off and pick up times – creating a safer, calmer space for children, parents and residents to walk, scoot or cycle.
Evaluation of the pilot found that daily car use has reduced by 14%, and more children are walking (+11%), scooting (+3%) and cycling (+7%) on a daily basis. Staff report children arriving to school more ready to learn, with an improved atmosphere and reduced stress at the school gate. Parents and the wider community report a better walking and cycling environment, improved access and community spirit (see www.galwaycity.ie/schoolstreets).
The school is now participating in Safe Routes to School, with permanent Front of School infrastructure being progressed, in line with national design guidance.
This project is funded by the National Transport Authority, and delivered with the support of the Green-Schools Travel programme, An Garda Siochána, and the wider school community.
Línte na Farraige
Línte na Farraige is a set of visual light installations placed across Irish coastal sites, including at the Spanish Arch/ Claddagh Basin in Galway City, and funded by Creative Ireland. The installations are comprised of illuminated horizontal lines that represent future sea level and storm surges. The lines of light will be based on predictions of future sea level rise from international benchmarks, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report AR6, and historical storm surge data.
The project will launch in Galway in September/ October 2022. See www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/blog/creative-climate-action-linte-na-farraige/
Clean it Up, You Dirty Pup!
Galway City Council has launched a new dog fouling awareness initiative titled ʻClean it up you dirty pup!ʼ Galway City Council staff stencilled a ʻClean it up you dirty pup!ʼ message on footpaths in over 70 places around the City. Local volunteers from Residents Associations and Tidy Towns groups then use a spray to highlight individual dog foul with bright yellow spray paint. Spray paints are temporary and have minimal impact on the environment and will wash away after a few weeks but are key to creating a baseline of the issue and continuous evaluation.
