CONCERNS have been raised by one local councillor over perceived inconvenience caused by a road closure at The Crescent on O’Connell Street in Limerick City as schools in the area reopened last week.
Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely told the Limerick Post that she had been contacted by parents and a school principal regarding the month-long road closure ahead of schools reopening.
After highlighting the possibility of “traffic chaos” on social media, Cllr Kiely says she was also contacted by businesses over its impact to trade.
Standing over claims from her constituents, Cllr Kiely declared that “it is imperative that we as local representatives voice the concerns of the people we represent”.
“We all have a mandate to represent, that’s democracy,” she said. “The road was reopened previously by the Gardaí due to safety concerns — they are the authority on this.”
The purpose of her social media post, Cllr Kiely explained, was to clear up the public’s perception that councillors and the executive of Limerick City and County Council were behind the street’s closure.
“This needed to be clarified,” she said, moving to distance herself from the initiative run by the Mayor on The Crescent across August.
“I have now heard the Mayor plans to close that area again in December. People need to be aware of this as the road closure will be advertised and that is the time to put forward observations.”
Cllr Kiely believes the cost of the road closure should also be looked at in regards the spending of public money, questioning “how much of a financial impact, good or bad, has it had on businesses in the area? Some of them will speak publicly, however, others won’t and I am acutely aware as to why.”
The Fine Gael councillor claimed that “the feeling is, if you disagree with something you will be punished on social media for saying it.”
‘A stupid decision and location’
One angry mother who had to transport one child to a crèche and another to a primary school on O’Connell Avenue before getting herself to work on the other side of the city was not impressed with Mayor Moran’s scheme, hitting out in a correspondence with the Mayor’s office that “this road closure for a fake beach is an absolute disgrace”.
“When I contacted Cllr Sarah Kiely she said this was beyond the control of the councillors who represent me in Limerick City East,” the mother wrote.
“The timing couldn’t be worse. There’s Arthur’s Quay Park, the People’s Park, the back of the Hunt Museum, that could have all been used. There’s no one wanting to sit on deck chairs in sand in the middle of O’Connell Street. It’s a stupid decision and location,” she fumed.
The month-long road closure came to an end this past weekend after a well-attended dinner and opera night on the public thoroughfare attended by scores who celebrated into the night.
There was no response from Limerick City and County Council to Cllr Kiely’s comments at the time of going to print.
