Motorists in Galway city have been warned to expect months of traffic disruption while work on a €5 million revamp of Eyre Square is under way.
New traffic arrangements have been put in place to accommodate the works, which have led to traffic chaos and confusion among motorists.
Galway City Council has put traffic diversions at Victoria Place to the west of Eyre Square. Traffic is diverted at Merchants Road. Traffic has also been closed to the east of the square at Forster Street.
Council officials have met with taxi drivers, bus drivers and the gardaí in an effort to minimise disruption.
"We have been in consultation with the public service vehicles, the buses, taxis and hackneys in relation to various ongoing issues. There have been some traffic problems but we are getting every assistance from the gardaí," said a council spokesperson.
The green area in Kennedy Park in the centre of the square has been fenced off since the start of the month and work on this part of the revamp is expected to be completed by June.
Work will continue until September of next year, by which time the west side of the square (the Skeffington Hotel side) will be totally closed to traffic.
While the new square will feature 98 new trees, local environmental activists have expressed their anger that 76 trees have had to be cut down as part of the revamp plan.
Mr Niall O'Brolcháin of Galway Environmental Alliance (GEA) said the group would not be following up on its complaint to Europe in relation to saving the trees in Eyre Square and implementing an alternative plan because it was academic at this stage.
He said the complaint had been referred to the Department of the Environment from the EU Department of Regional Affairs, and it was "probably gathering dust" on a desk somewhere. "Our campaign to save the trees has not had a huge degree of success. Only 25 of the original trees are being retained after all our wrangling. Some of our points were taken aboard by the city council, others were not and we are very disappointed that they have decided to go ahead with the scheme as proposed," he said.
Mr O'Brolcháin explained that it was the view of GEA that the alternative plan for the square, by award-winning horticulturist, Mary Reynolds, was a superior plan and more in keeping with the nature of Galway. The group says the fencing off of Eyre Square for the duration of the works contravenes the spirit in which Edward Eyre donated the square to the people of Bohermore.