FINE Gael councillor Sarah Kiely believes that a pedestrian crossing on O’Connell Street at the junction of Bedford Row and Thomas Street is required as a matter of urgency.
Speaking at February’s Metropolitan District meeting, Cllr Kiely told the Council executive that people are constantly contacting councillors, from all over the city, to ask why the pedestrian crossing can’t be reinstated.
The City East representative also revealed that she has been doing her own research and liaising with different local authority departments on the matter.
”I’ve asked about the design and construction costs and again I’m told that no budget is available. To me, that’s not good enough. I’m sure we could find something to the tune of €100,000 pretty quickly, especially considering the safety concerns,” Cllr Kiely warned.
“This is not going away. If it kills me, it’s not going away.”
Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan took the view that the busy junction in question is really dangerous.
“If we’re going at national policy level, we have guidelines in relation to a design manual for urban roads and streets which has a very clear hierarchy of road users, with pedestrians first. This is not the case on O’Connell Street,” Cllr O’Donovan said.
“We have a very dangerous situation in relation to cyclists where pedestrians have to cross in the middle of a cycle lane and in the middle of a traffic lane. We just can’t stand over it anymore.”
Cllr Daniel Butler (FG) reminded Council management that councillors highlighted the issue during the revitalisation of O’Connell Street process.
“There’s a natural draw from Thomas Street across to Bedford Row. There’s a natural draw as a pedestrian and we brought it up at the planning stage and we were told it wasn’t feasible, it wasn’t safe, and wouldn’t fit with the design. But we did raise it and I want that noted,” Cllr Butler demanded.
Sinn Féin councillor Sharon Benson hit out at the executive for the cost implications they are now going to be faced with in rectifying these issues.
“At the time we were told this was to be a shared surface across the street with zero cost going forward. We were stuck in a corner at the time due to NTA (National Transport Authority) interference, and we were promised at the time, by the Council, that this shared surface would allow change,” she recalled.
The Council’s Director of Planning, Vincent Murray, told Council members that a cost estimate for this particular work is being prepared by their design consultant.
“This estimated budget will then allow Limerick City and County Council to identify potential funding sources,” Mr Murray explained.
