MAYOR John Moran’s project at The Crescent in Limerick City, which saw the closure of the busy city street around the Daniel O’Connell Monument for the month of August, cost over €45,000.
According to a response from the Mayor to a question from Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely at this month’s full meeting of Limerick City and County Council, the total cost of the month-long project was €46,601.
The aim of the venture, which saw the road closed to traffic throughout August, was to facilitate public realm enhancement and inject fresh life into the area.
A total of €8,209 was spent on traffic management for the project, while stipends (support for community activation) cost €11,900.
A further €18,750 was spent on the Festival in a Van concerts, and €6,900 went to animation and physical preparations, with €842 spent on photography.
The full costs, it was revealed, averaged €1,500 per day.
However, Cllr Sarah Kiely was unhappy with the Mayor’s figures and felt the breakdown of costs left a lot to be desired, calling for “questions to be answered correctly and completely”.
“We now don’t have an accurate figure for the cost of the Crescent project because there is no costing for our own resources,” Cllr Kiely told the Limerick Post.
The City East representative also raised concerns that Limerick festivals such as Pigtown, the Richard Harris International Film Festival, and I.NY have all been shelved in recent times.
“I think it’s very disappointing to not have supported these festivals which took years to establish, with many hours of volunteering by very dedicated teams. It looks as if we have turned our back on them in terms of resources and that question needs to be answered as to why,” she hit out.
“Was it because resources were put into the Crescent? Who knows. I certainly don’t because I can’t get answers, unfortunately, with the mechanism in place to put in a question on the cost of the Crescent.”
Cllr Kiely claims she “didn’t get a full breakdown, which I think is unacceptable. What I got was testimonials from friends and associates of the Mayor.”
In the Mayor’s response to Cllr Kiely’s initial question, he said that businesses reported increased footfall from the rise in pedestrian traffic in the area during the month-long pilot.
The project, Mayor Moran maintained, changed many minds about the priority use of the public realm at the Crescent.
“Limerick Civic Trust in particular were supportive,” he told Cllr Kiely. “Moreover, by revitalising the Georgian area, Limerick City not only enhances its cultural heritage but also promotes residential occupancy, economic activity, and urban vibrancy.”
There was no response at the time of going to print in relation to the concerns raised by Cllr Kiely over the breakdown of costs.
