PLAN FOR ST NICHOLAS QUARTER APPROVED BY COUNCIL

COUNCILLORS gave the thumbs up to plans for the rejuvenation of Clanbrassil St and St Nicholas Quarter after hearing that amendments will see only three car parking spaces lost to the proposed €4.4million works.

While the original plan would have led to car parking along Clanbrassil Street and Church Street being reduced by 14 spaces, the amended proposal will leave 132 spaces, just three less spaces than there are at present.

The plans had been on public consultation and a total of 879 submissions were received. These included submissions from traders and residents, disability groups, the Dundalk BIDS Office, St Nicholas Quarter Group, Dundalk Cycling Alliance, St Malachy’s primary schools.

Councillors heard at the monthly meeting of the Municipal District of Dundalk last Tuesday that detailed designs will be drawn up including a road safety audit and contractors appointed through the European Tender procedure, with work hopefully starting in early 2019.

Chief Executive Ms Joan Martin said she had spoken with the Bridge Street Traders and Residents group and agreed that the Council will do a detailed design for Bridge Street and will endeavour to move that forward with a different pot of funding, hopefully within the same time frame, and that pavement works and the undergrounding of overhead cables will be carried out at the same time as the main redevelopment project.

The meeting heard that there will be no change in the traffic flows along the streets included in the plan. However, there will be a new access road for traffic exiting the Fair Green Road onto Linenhall Street so that existing green area can be expanded. A pedestrian crossing at the Castletown Road and Bridge Street junction is to be repositioned following the public consultation period.

The rejuvenation will see new road surfaces and footpaths, the narrowing of the carriageway in Clanbrassil Street to reduce traffic speeds and to improve safety for cyclists , the creation of an open public space with wider footpaths, planting an seating between the Green Church and St Nicholas Catholic Church, improved pedestrian crossings and changes to layout of three junctions, including a t-junction from Linenhall Street onto Church Street/Bridge Street, as well as new public lighting, new street furniture and public art. There will be no segregated cycle lanes.