The lack of office space in city centre

JupiterKid

Galway seems to have practically all its office employment located outside the city centre in the business parks, particularly to the East of the city. It doesn't make sense and is a result of atrocious planning IMO.

These business parks create huge traffic problems - which we know all too well - because workers need to cross the city to get from their homes to places of employment. It's a disaster in my opinion.

The other regional cities such as Cork and Limerick also have this problem, but Galway seems to be the worst case in this regard. Why can't decent office buildings be provided in the city centre where workers would be close to amenities, restaurants/cafes, shops and public transport?

Can this problem be addressed? Is there even the will in the city council to acknowledge that the spread out pattern of office accommodation in Galway is a major factor in the appalling traffic situation?

Mrs OBumble

There was some really dumb stuff done before the last recession: the former WebWorks building was targetted at startups - as though startups would be spending their limited cash on fancy offices in prime locations! Eventually Welfare went into the building, and the building which they were in is being hugely overhauled for Metlife.

There were some other apparently big office buildings in that area too (Fairgreen House etc) that just didn't seem to get fully tenanted. Not sure what the reason was, from what I've seen the floor-sizes are reasonable. Revenue have a few hundred staff in one of them, Ulster bank had some too (not sure if they still do), and some language colleges have taken some of the space.

I have a suspicion that IDA subsidies may be more easily tied to standalone campuses on the outskirts of town - possibly because that is where they have land-banks acquired in the days when investors were building manufacturing sites, that needed large-truck access. I don't know how much of a factor this is ... suspicion only.

Working out in the industrial estates is fairly horrible: Unless you are in a big company with an on-site canteen, there's usually only one lunch place (usually with cr*p coffee), and nowhere nice to walk. Going to the doctor, physio etc is a PITA - you basically have to take time off work. Mervue Post Office is the only one for miles around. The one thing that has improved in the last 10 years is public transport - better routes and bus shelters. But it's crazy that we're crediting a bus-shelter as an improvement, they should be a standard part of every bus route.

biko

I am actually onboard with locating office spaces outside the city centre as it means less morning/evening traffic and other strains on the city centre.