Re: Re: well what about the developments popping up in the shannonside ?

Saturday, September 17th, 2005
Council faces gridlock over proposals for city bus lanes

By MIKE DWANE

COUNCILLORS look set to scrap proposed bus and cycle lanes on the Ballinacurra Road, O’Connell Avenue, Mulgrave Street / Roche’s Street and Bengal Terrace following a stormy meeting at City Hall this Wednesday.

Around 30 residents from the affected neighbourhoods crowded into the public gallery where the contentious issue of green routes was debated by the transport and infrastructure strategic policy committee.

Householders were irate over the recent erection of site notices on Mulgrave Street and beyond the Ballinacurra Creek outlining that Limerick City Council intended to seek funding for bus and cycle lanes there.

This was despite the fact that councillors thought they had shelved these planned routes before the summer recess and agreed that the Council should proceed only with its plans for green routes on Ennis Road and Childers’ Road.

“I’ve said it here time and again that the main Ballinacurra Road, O’Connell Avenue, Mulgrave Street and Roches Street are not suitable for bus and cycle lanes,” Cllr Pat Kennedy said.

He put forward that the committee would reject any notion of bus lanes at the above locations and said he would be urging the full Council to formally rule them out at its next meeting.

“We, the elected members, are the people who set policy here and I hope people in senior management here get that into their heads,” Cllr Kennedy said.

Fine Gael’s Cllr Maria Byrne said that “prior to the summer recess, we had deleted all reference to these routes so I was alarmed to receive a phonecall from a member of the public regarding this sign that had been erected on Mulgrave Street.”

She was further dismayed to learn that a sign regarding disputed city bus and cycle lanes had been put up on the far side of Ballinacurra Creek outside the city boundary.

Cllr Byrne said she would be seconding Cllr Kennedy’s motion for the deletion of routes at Ballinacurra, O’Connell Avenue, Mulgrave and Roche’s Street.

Her party colleague, Cllr Ger Fahy, said he was “appalled” to get calls from constituents on a site notice concerning a green route for Bengal Terrace, of which, he said, there had been previously been no mention.

“Residents assumed that because the sign on Mulgrave Street was nowhere near them, it had nothing to do with Bengal Terrace. There was no public consultation and they are absolutely furious with the approach of Limerick City Council,” said Cllr Fahy, adding that 100 affected homeowners in the area were not prepared to build driveways at their own expense to take their cars off the road.

Committee chairman Cllr Joe Leddin admitted he was similarly “annoyed” when he got the same phonecalls from residents in his ward.

“Putting site notices outside the boundaries of the city, high up on poles or behind hedges, is simply unacceptable,” Cllr Leddin said.

But director of services John Breen stressed that no routes for the areas concerned had been agreed and that they would all have to go through the planning process.

“The decision rests with the elected members and the public through Part 8 of the planning process. We have received public submissions which we will be responding to but it’s quite clear there’s strong opposition,” Mr Breen said.