PUBLIC MEETING ON LAURENCE’S GATE CLOSURE PLANNED
Public meeting takes place on January 9 in the Barbican
WILL 2017 be the year when St Laurence’s Gate is finally closed off to vehicular traffic.
Louth County Council has prepared a traffic management proposal to enable the closure of the Gate and is available for inspection during office hours until Friday 20th January 2017 at the Civic Offices on Fair Street.
It seems a pretty straightforward proposal, including:
* The reversing of the current one-way system on Oulsters Lane, Sandyford Terrace and Jim Garry Way
* The introduction of 2-way traffic on Francis Street, from its junction with Scarlet Street, southwards to its junction with Jim Garry Way.
* The introduction of oneway traffic on Francis Street, from its junction with Cord Road, northwards to its junction with Jim Garry Way.
The council say the views of the public will be taken into consideration as part of the process and submissions may be made in writing to : Eugene McManus, Administrative Officer, Louth County Council, Town Hall, Crowe Street, Dundalk County Louth,A91 W20C.
The past few months has brought varied comments and discussion - especially after a number of ‘strikes’ by lorries under the Gate.
But a lot of that - it could be argued - was not helped by the fact that the council indicated that the height of the access under the Gate was measured at 4.45m - when it was actually 3m! - No wonder trucks whose height was 3.5m to 4m were left wondering what was going on!
The major factor is that there will be no easy solution to closing the Gate and the big question is where will the thousands of vehicles that use this route now go?
In that respect, more than the roads and streets around the Gate should have been brought into play.
Waiting in traffic on the North Quays simply won’t be an answer. It’s already a problem and adding hundreds of cars to this stretch is a non-runner.
One thing that could help is reversing the flow of traffic on Bachelor’s Lane (it happens all the time anyway!) to take vehicles away from the quays.
Also, getting vehicles to go up Francis Street as far as the junction with Jim Garry Way is fraught with issues.
The road is inset slightly back from the street due to a house adjoining it and that will involve vehicles ‘swinging’ right before going across the street. For those residents in those houses on the right on Francis Street, they are likely to have a truck in their front room at some stage!
For those with something to say or who feel they need to make a point, a public meeting has been called for Monday
Late January will see consultation process end and the big decisions for Gate made
January 9th at 8pm in the Barbican Centre.
Cllr Frank Godfrey says it’s vital that those who have concerns, be they living on the Chord Road, Oulster Lane, Francis Street or Sandyford Terrace, etc, even Greenhills, traders, gardai and campaigners, to come along and air their views.
‘Some people want the Gate closed because it’s part of our heritage and if this was somewhere else in Europe, it would be done,’ he stated. ‘But the Gate is a busy route into Drogheda and we have to ask, where are these cars going to go.’
He says there have been calls for a barrier to be placed in front of the Gate to prevent any further damage to it. Others feel that cars should still be allowed to go under it as closing it permanently will lead to too many traffic issues.
‘ This meeting will be the chance for everything to be discussed before the consultation process ends,’ he added.