Galway City Council will participate in European Mobility Week (EMW), running between 16th to the 22nd September. The initiative is to arrange activities and events which promote and contribute to a shift towards sustainable urban transport.

In Ireland, EMW is promoted by Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport (DTTAS) and they strongly encouraged local authorities to use the Week to test new transport measures and get feedback from the public.

The following events are being organised by Galway City Council as part of mobility week.

Go Car Pilot
As part of EMW and supported by DTTAS, Galway City Council will launch a car sharing pilot project being advanced by GoCar Ireland in partnership with the City Council. Carsharing allows people to hire cars for as little as an hour using an online booking system or smart phone app to reserve the vehicle and in-car technology to unlock and drive the car. Car Sharing has been proven to replace between 10-15 private cars, as well as increasing the use of public transport.

Up to 11 cars have been approved for the pilot and these will be parked at nominated locations in Galway City such as City Hall Car Park, Dyke Road Car Park, Greyhound/Sports Ground Car Park, Mill Street Car Park, Raven Terrace Car Park, Cathedral car Park, Salthill Car Park, Bowling Green Car Park, Rockbarton Road (Leisureland), Woodquay Car Park, Seamus Quirke Road (back of Hospital) and Ceannt Train Station.

A report on the outcome of the 6 month pilot initiative will come back to the Council through the quarterly report.


Coke Zero Bike Rental Scheme
Galway City Council, the National Transport Authority and Coke Zero are extending the Galway City Bike Rental Scheme. The Galway Bike Scheme will be expanded with the construction of eight new stations bringing the total number of stations in Galway City to 23.

The new stations will serve the following areas:
• NUIG, where 3 sites have been identified across the campus;
• University Hospital;
• Galway Shopping Centre at Bodkin junction;
• Westside Shopping Centre on Seamus Quirke Road;
• Two locations along the Dublin Road, between Moneenageisha junction and GMIT.

The new stations are currently coming on line and will be officially opened during September.


Car-Free Day
Friday the 22nd September is European Car-Free Day and is part of Mobility Week. Cities carry out a Car-Free Day event by closing one or more streets to traffic and instead opening it to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. A total of 218 cities/towns across Europe have registered to participate in Car-Free day and will be closing a street to cars on Friday 22nd September. Galway City Council will be a participant again this year and in particular because the proposed closure to private cars of Foster Street to Eglington Street is a permanent measure included in our Galway Transportation Strategy (GTS). The closure will be in place from 10am to 2pm and advance signage and media communication will be engaged.

City Centre Cycle
As part of European Mobility Week (EMW) and during the Car-Free day, Galway City Council will once again be organising a city centre cycle, this time for secondary school pupils. The cycle will commence within the Car-Free area and is being organised in conjunction with the Gardaí, Civil Defence and An Taisce Green-Schools