Town needs full traffic plan review

Many will share the disappointment expressed by members of Louth County Council that their appeal against the decision not to grant fundraising for Bridge Street under the Urban Regeneration Fund has failed and consequently the desire to have the refurbishment of Clanbrassil and Church Streets continue into Bridge Street will not be realised.

Goodness knows Bridge Street could badly do with a facelift, for with many businesses in a street that was once a popular area now closed or struggling, the prospect of new footpaths, a re-laid road surface and street furniture would have been a boost.

Currently the work in Church Street and extending into Linenhall Street and a small section of Bridge Street is nearing completion and traders will want to see the contractor exit the area before the end of this month to ensure that there is no disruption to the Christmas trade.

Already the traders in Church Street have suffered considerably because of the disruption that the work has caused especially in front of St. Nicholas Green Church and the former Carrolls factory, for while the work, when completed, will enhance the area to be known as St. Nicholas Quarter, it has taken an awful lot longer than the traders expected.

There is also some disquiet at the work that is taking place in the immediate area in front of the former H. F. & J. McCann bakery at the mouth of Linenhall Street, for few expected that the island that is now being shaped, to be part of the work, and it will be interesting to see how the traffic flow in that area will be managed both in the short term and when the complete traffic plan for the town centre is unveiled.

Views on the town centre work are mixed for while pedestrians are undoubtedly relieved that they do not have to pick their steps as heretofore to avoid tripping on the uneven surfaces, some are unhappy at the loss of some street parking.

However, it is only right that townspeople should reserve their views of the matter until the work is fully completed in the early months of the new year and when a comprehensive review of the entire traffic management plan for the town should be undertaken to try and eliminate some of the bottlenecks that are the cause of great frustration amongst motorists.

One such bottleneck is the junction from Jocelyn Street into Chapel Street outside of the Home Bakery, for it would make sense to most people to stop traffic turning right into Chapel Street from Jocelyn Street for one vehicle turning across the flow of traffic can cause a tail back for some considerable distance, obstructing traffic form emerging from Distillery Lane.

As always traffic problems in town are accentuated at this time of year because of Christmas shopping, but perhaps in the new year staff allocated the task of managing the town’s traffic flow could take a fresh look at the situation once the refurbishment of the main streets is complete.