What does Galway need?

L'Enfer du Nord

D Trent wrote: »

http://www.sjk.ie/index.php?id=47

There's plans for that minus the arena/concert venue

Good god. I thought Spinaker II was bad until I saw Spinaker I. Just something incongruous about having an 'iconic' building like that next to a caravan park.

http://www.sjk.ie/index.php?id=46




Just a personal opinion but I don't think there should be any high rise past the golf club. If there was/is a master-plan to develop the whole area OK maybe, but that building would look so out of place on its own next 1970s low rise housing, caravan park, driving range and mudflats. Salthill itself could do with improvements to the seafront. Not really many places you can have a coffee/meal/pint with a sea view.

nuac

More reasonably well paid jobs

Utopia Parkway

Monorail.

GalwayGrrrrrl

An indoor science centre like W5 or Imaginosity. There is nothing like it nearby and it would be great for kids on rainy days. Would also give another option for parents looking for birthday party venues.

intellectual dosser

L'Enfer du Nord wrote: »

A decent interface between the train station and the city centre. Unlike other Irish cities the station is slap bang in the middle of the city, but Jesus Christ, with most passengers exiting the station on the north side past a load of bus queues on a narrow footpath its like Calcutta on a Friday afternoon.

I think this is in the works, but you can probably brace yourself for a 202X delivery.

Links234

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Monorail.

It'd sure put us on the map!

All joking aside, having used a couple of monorails they're pretty great. Most recently the one in Seattle, but that's more of a tourist thing than something practical. They're used all over Japan and in a lot of other Asian countries, and they make a lot of sense in urban areas, especially suspended monorails that are held up by a series of pillars or bridges and can easily have stations in larger buildings like shopping malls or the like. It would be quite practical in Galway as there wouldn't be as much of a 'footprint' required as a rail system, something like the Urban Flyer in Chiba would be a great example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STRz0gjCMsw

It's pretty damn cool.

The one in Tokyo was awesome too, you get an amazing view of the bay. Monorails are also great for small scale transport, airports and the like, there's one in Ueno Zoo for example, basically covering small, high volume areas. There's an awful lot to be said for a monorail in Galway, but we'd hit a snag fairly early on...

Galway isn't Chiba, and it certainly isn't Tokyo or Osaka or Fukuoka or anywhere else that has a monorail. We've got what, a population of 75k in the city? Chiba has over 950k. Looking at smaller cities, Wuppertal in Germany has a suspension monorail that dates back to 1903, but they have a population of 342k and the amount of people riding the monorail per day is 80k according to wikipedia.

Tbh, it's as big a pie in the sky as a GLUAS or whatever.

Mantis Toboggan

A few decent petrol stations/shops very few around the city. Castlebar puts it to shame.

flazio

stampydmonkey wrote: »

Concert Venue and Proper Sports Arena, 50m pool and running track

There is one out on Westside is there not?

bearclaire

What Does Galway Need-

Exceptance and Appreciation
Galway is Wonderful

stampydmonkey

flazio wrote: »

There is one out on Westside is there not?

There is and in dangan but would be nice to have a centre with them all together

Mrs OBumble

Links234 wrote: »

It'd sure put us on the map!

All joking aside, having used a couple of monorails they're pretty great. Most recently the one in Seattle, but that's more of a tourist thing than something practical. They're used all over Japan and in a lot of other Asian countries, and they make a lot of sense in urban areas, especially suspended monorails that are held up by a series of pillars or bridges and can easily have stations in larger buildings like shopping malls or the like. ...


Galway isn't Chiba, and it certainly isn't Tokyo or Osaka or Fukuoka or anywhere else that has a monorail. We've got what, a population of 75k in the city?

Sydney is a lot bigger than Galway, and they couldn't sustain theirs.

Mantis Toboggan

bearclaire wrote: »

What Does Galway Need-

Exceptance and Appreciation
Galway is Wonderful

Keep burying the head in the sand Claire.

Crumbs868

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Sydney is a lot bigger than Galway, and they couldn't sustain theirs.

That's a sweeping statement!

There were bigger issues like poor planning and crazy high fares behind Sydney's problems

Wompa1

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Sydney is a lot bigger than Galway, and they couldn't sustain theirs.

From the time I spent in Sydney it's much like the city I'm in now, Phoenix. It's a huge urban sprawl. Phoenix also has a light rail that's not doing too good. The area is too big to cover. The light rail is slower than a car but quicker than a bus. The buses here and in Sydney are useless.

You need a car in those big spread out cities.

I took the light rail and bus in Sydney and have a lot of family from Sydney, born and raised. They drive. The train from the main station in Sydney goes out to many of the cities\towns out in the sprawls but again, that takes forever with all of the stops.

I think Galway would be perfect for a light rail IF the price was affordable. Particularly if it's more affordable than a bus (based on how much it was when I was there)...that BS that it's cheaper that petrol in a car each month...whatever! For where I lived, it was barely cheaper and with my car I had a little more control of my schedule. Nothing like waiting at the bus stop in the p1ssing rain and no bus coming.

Even with those LED signs. A couple of years ago on a Sunday...somehow every sign along the way from Salthill into town showed No Information Available...then by some strange coincidence. No Bus came.

One year I picked a place right by a bus stop thinking it would be handy to get in and out of town (Bothair an Choiste). Nope! It would either be late or not show up at all...particularly on a Sunday! Same happened again when I lived out in Mervue.

Nurts to the bus. Use it if you you're going out to Parkmore or if you have the luxury of your time not being all that valuable.

Links234

Crumbs868 wrote: »

That's a sweeping statement!

There were bigger issues like poor planning and crazy high fares behind Sydney's problems

The other issues were that it was more of a tourist thing than proper transportation for the city, and it was just a single loop covering a relatively small area. Single loop being a problem, because it was grand if you're going from A to B, but if you wanted to go from B to A, you'd have to go to C to D and so forth before getting back around to A, and that's just not ideal for any commuter service. Not that a monorail can't work purely as a tourist thing, Seattle's one goes from Westlake to the Space Needle, it's a relatively short trip that just goes between 2 stops, but it's not pricey and it actually turns a profit for the city. That was actually one of the things I enjoyed most from the trip. But I doubt one would suit Galway purely as a tourist attraction.

The Lost Sheep

stampydmonkey wrote: »

Concert Venue and Proper Sports Arena, 50m pool and running track

Is an Olympic pool needed?
There already is outdoor 400m running tracks. Dangan etc.
What else would you want in this proper sports arena and where would you put it?

Wompa1

Links234 wrote: »

The other issues were that it was more of a tourist thing than proper transportation for the city, and it was just a single loop covering a relatively small area. Single loop being a problem, because it was grand if you're going from A to B, but if you wanted to go from B to A, you'd have to go to C to D and so forth before getting back around to A, and that's just not ideal for any commuter service. Not that a monorail can't work purely as a tourist thing, Seattle's one goes from Westlake to the Space Needle, it's a relatively short trip that just goes between 2 stops, but it's not pricey and it actually turns a profit for the city. That was actually one of the things I enjoyed most from the trip. But I doubt one would suit Galway purely as a tourist attraction.

I go to Seattle a few times a year. I love the place but the monorail is a little odd...I think it was pretty much designed just to get people from the airport to downtown. It's great for people flying in, or Football fans going to a game down by the Piers.

But for the people living there, it kind of blows. Again, mainly down to the fact that it doesn't cover most peoples needs. I looked into living there. I would have needed to get a bus to the rail and then walk couple of miles after I got off to get where I needed to go.

Also so many people working in that area have to travel out to Bellevue and Redmond. Meanwhile the only somewhat affordable living is in places like Renton or even further South than Tacoma...it's not great.

Denver are about to link there's to their airport. It will be one of the longest light rail lines in the US. The Airport is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy outside of the downtown. I suspect that will get a lot of business for the simple fact, the only alternatives for people are a buses that take forever, rent a car or pay out the @ss for a taxi.

Dublin's light rail is one of the only ones I've heard of in a non-HUGE city that's doing well

saabsaab

Airship service cargo & passenger to Aran Islands.

Daisy78

A concert hall fit for a city so invested in the arts.

And a greenway.....

Links234

Wompa1 wrote: »

I go to Seattle a few times a year. I love the place but the monorail is a little odd...I think it was pretty much designed just to get people from the airport to downtown. It's great for people flying in, or Football fans going to a game down by the Piers.

Are you mixing up the monorail with the link light rail? The link was only opened a few years back and it's still being extended. The monorail was built in the 60's for the world's fair along with the Space Needle, it doesn't go to the airport.

One thing I think Seattle really did right was the downtown transit tunnel, we were staying up near Northgate so regularly took the bus. The great thing about the transit tunnel was that both the light rail and bus services ran through it, so there was very little holdup on the bus. Actually, I thought the bus services were great in Seattle, the only time we even used a taxi while there was getting to White Center, or getting back from Ballard, both late at night. The rest of the time we were using the public transport.

I'd love to back again, seriously nice place.

Wompa1

Links234 wrote: »

Are you mixing up the monorail with the link light rail? The link was only opened a few years back and it's still being extended. The monorail was built in the 60's for the world's fair along with the Space Needle, it doesn't go to the airport.

One thing I think Seattle really did right was the downtown transit tunnel, we were staying up near Northgate so regularly took the bus. The great thing about the transit tunnel was that both the light rail and bus services ran through it, so there was very little holdup on the bus. Actually, I thought the bus services were great in Seattle, the only time we even used a taxi while there was getting to White Center, or getting back from Ballard, both late at night. The rest of the time we were using the public transport.

I'd love to back again, seriously nice place.

Ah, sorry you're right!! Most times I've been out there it was to do some work at the Microsoft campus which is in Redmond. I also did some work pretty close to the Space needle. I rented a car...traffic sucked! It's apparently the 4th worst city in the US in terms of traffic. There was a bus service that ran from downtown to Bellevue and then another from there to Redmond but it seemed to take too long

Links234

Wompa1 wrote: »

Ah, sorry you're right!! Most times I've been out there it was to do some work at the Microsoft campus which is in Redmond. I also did some work pretty close to the Space needle. I rented a car...traffic sucked! It's apparently the 4th worst city in the US in terms of traffic. There was a bus service that ran from downtown to Bellevue and then another from there to Redmond but it seemed to take too long

They should probably think about extending the monorail! But yeah, some of the traffic there is crazy alright, and there's quite a few issues with the infrastructure, they're running into a lot of problems with the viaduct replacement tunnel last I heard.

I am actually pretty fascinated with monorails though, they're quite amazing and as public transport they can be really scenic. It's especially interesting from a cultural standpoint, because they're pretty common in Japan and other Asian countries, in fact I think Japan has the most monorails, but outside of that you rarely see them in other parts of the world. And I just wonder why that is, what's the deal there?

Take a look at this, this is the big one that just opened in South Korea. Just shy of 24km and 30 stations, it's pretty damn impressive. You don't have to watch a full 37 mins, but it's worth a look for a minute, you can kinda see what I mean about it not having much of a 'footprint' as instead of track it's held up by pillars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ShnN3xyRhc

Or this is the old Shonan Monorail in Kamakura (Japan) that was opened back in 1970:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnEWNaN2Mc

Anyway, you get the idea, monorails are cool and we should totally build one in Galway.

hal9000

Is there a chance the track could bend?

ronnie3585

Not on your life, my Hindu friend.

Lockstep

A Wetherspoons would be a great addition. We've some great pubs in Galway but a Spoons would be excellent as well.

Better petrol stations. It seems to be a lot cheaper to fill up outside Galway.

Links234

A Wetherspoons would be amazing, I'd love a few pints of proper English cask ale, and the price is magnificent. Heard rumours they might take over the Cottage in Salthill but there hadn't been much word on that, shame.

Sniipe

A decent climbing wall would be cool. I know there is a small one in the kingfisher, but I'm thinking something like this


Or a two in one, how about a 50m pool with a climbing wall at the end of it?


to add, a decent kids play area, I see a few micky mouse ones around, so something bigger and better...

danube

I'm surprised no one mentioned more houses and apartments.

Music4life

I wish there was benches placed on Shop street, could also ruin the place if not done right!

Links234

danube wrote: »

I'm surprised no one mentioned more houses and apartments.

Yeah, and decent high rise apartment buildings, we shouldn't be afraid of building upwards, just look at the issues with Dublin and how the ever increasing urban sprawl is putting a strain on infrastructure. And also decent, livable one person apartments. There's obviously a market for this when people are renting out barely livable shoeboxes as "Studio apartments" are charging extraordinary amounts for the privilage, and the chancers get away with it too, so why not build single occupancy apartments to a high standard. Something like these:





And you know something else that Galway should have? A proper indoor market, like the English Market in Cork, or the Camden Stables Market in London. Somewhere like the old Connact Laundry site would've been absolutely perfect, but that apparently is gonna be a hotel. Alternatively the car park on Market St. would be an absolutely perfect part.

Galway would be a pretty interesting place if I was in charge, have a look in the indoor market and get some street food, then grab a pint in Wetherspoons and later take the monorail back to your micro apartment. :pac: