Galway claims over sticky tarmac

Galway City Council is facing compensation claims from traders and residents who say floors, carpets and painted walls have been destroyed by the city's use of a flexi-tarmac and grit substance as a footpath surface.

The material is also being used on footpaths in Dublin and Cork.

More than 400 people, from business-owners to householders and tourists, have signed letters of complaint alleging the grit and black tar is unwashable, leaving them unable to clear the usual weekend mess outside their premises. They also claim the new surface sticks to shoes and has ruined wooden floors, carpets and new paintwork on adjacent walls.

The city council has acknowledged a difficulty with the application in certain parts of Galway but insists that when allowed to harden, the new surface is acceptable.

The council has entered into talks with some premises-owners and said yesterday that it understood "an agreement had been reached" with them.

However, Ms Brigid Brophy, who runs O'Beirnes pharmacy on Henry Street in the west of the city, said she had had no satisfaction since making her complaint. Ms Brophy said she arrived to work one morning to find her shutters has been "tarred" to the footpath.

She said that in the weeks since, it had been impossible to carry out normal cleaning on the street "and we have people walking through dog dirt, puke and litter, sticking to it and bringing it into our business".

Ms Brophy organised a campaign against the use of the new material and devoted her shop window to photographic examples of tar-marked floors, carpets and uneven surfaces. While most of the support came from locals, she said many tourists "come in shaking their heads" to sign her petition.

She said the material was unsuitable for the old section of the city in which her business was located.

"I don't know why they want to put it here. It is not in keeping with the old streets. It was done without any consultation whatever. One man, a former painter who had recently painted the walls of his house, was told it would wash off in time. When it is wet it looks so slippy the elderly stay indoors."

Galway City Council, while accepting that there may have been a particular difficulty in relation to Henry Street, said yesterday that the process was working well generally.

A spokesman said the material is being used on 1,400 sq metres of pavement in Galway and it had been used in Dublin and Cork as well. "It may take a few days to settle but it is commonly used and trusted" he added.

"We understand that outside Ms Brophy's premises it wasn't 100 per cent perfect for one reason or another, but we have spoken to her and we thought we had an agreement to everyone's satisfaction," he said.