“The O’Connell Street revitalisation plans published last week are a missed opportunity for Limerick, a fudge that will satisfy neither traders or the general public,” Cllr James Collins said.
“There has been talk of pedestrianisation and revitalising O’Connell Street for more than 20 years now. The Council looked at this in 2007, then again in 2016. What happened to the scores of public submissions for O’Connell Street pedestrianisation which were submitted in 2016? There were lots of good ideas and imaginative proposals submitted by members of the public in 2016, but I don’t see any of them reflected in the current proposals,” Cllr Collins, the Cathaoirleach of Limerick Metropolitan Council, said.
“It seems that in trying to satisfy all parties, we have again produced a fudge, a compromise that suits no-one. This plan should dovetail with our transport strategy, with our Project Opera plans, with the new UL riverside campus at Sarsfield Bridge, but instead it’s a bland plan, lacking any ambition,” Cllr Collins, a Fianna Fail general election candidate said.
“The latest proposals can’t be called pedestrianisation proposals. Neither will they lead to any significant revitalisation of O’Connell Street in my view because the proposals are far too conservative. Really what is being proposed here is reducing the size of traffic lanes to three metres each, and using the space to increase the width of footpaths. Adding 14 trees to O’Connell Street and widening some of the footpaths is a far cry from the pedestrianisation called for by many members of the public.”
