The paving and cobbles on Shop Street in Galway are to be replaced because of concern about the number of people falling over and hurting themselves.
A spokesman for Galway city council said that plans were under way to remedy the uneven paving on the city centre’s main thoroughfare which has been the subject of several compensation claims. “We are looking at options regarding the pedestrianised area in the city centre and preliminary design work may start in 2017,” he said.
“There will also need to be an extensive consultation process with all stakeholders in advance of any works, including businesses and utilities, but physical ‘on the ground’ work is unlikely to be started this year. The current paving has been in situ for nearly two decades but as problems arise Galway city council staff carry out repairs and replacements as necessary.”
Last month the Connacht Tribune reported two incidents in which women needed medical treatment after tripping on the cobbled street.
One woman in her eighties damaged her cheekbone after falling at the top of Shop Street, and another in her sixties broke two front teeth when she tripped on a cobble.
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Niall McNelis, a Labour councillor, has campaigned for a number of years for the stones to be replaced. “They should never have been put down in the first place,” he said.
Tens of thousands of visitors are in the city for this week’s Galway Races and Mr McNelis predicted that until the works are done, more falls were inevitable. “It should have been replaced a long time ago,” he said.
“This weekend just gone, there was an American visitor that tripped and her nose was very badly damaged. There’s an indication that works could start by the end of the year, which won’t be a day too soon.”
Mr McNelis said that there were no signs warning visitors about uneven paving on the street, which stretches from Brown Thomas to Cross Street.
“I was seriously thinking of getting a sign made with a big high heel and an X going through it so people have an idea to be careful,” he said. “There will be more falls, that is for sure and all I can do is try to highlight the dangers there. Currently, there are no trip hazard signs, although I have looked for them to be put up.”
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Figures obtained by Mr McNelis through a freedom of information request in 2015 showed that compensation payouts for personal injury claims in the city exceeded €5 million over three years, with a total of 242 claims. While the bill included the cost of claims in city parks and other public areas, it was understood that incidents involving the paving were responsible for a significant proportion.
Since then Mr McNelis said that the state of the paving had deteriorated. He said that allowing heavy goods vehicles access to the street before 10am should also be reviewed. “Those trucks have definitely caused a lot of damage and I have been campaigning for a weight restriction on that street for years,” he said. “Cobbles are sticking up, some are missing and some have sunken down, it’s in a terrible state. At least with race week it will be so packed that people won’t really have room to fall.”