That we advise the Council officials not to attempt again, the pedestrianisation of any part of Main St., or any other street, in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Minutes:
To consider the following Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Des Guckian;
"That we advise the Council officials not to attempt again, the pedestrianisation of any part of Main St., or any other street, in Carrick-on-Shannon."
Report by Director of Services for Economic Development, Planning, Environment and Transportation.
"Leitrim County Council seeks to ensure the continued development and progression of the County for the benefit of business, residents and visitors. On occasion this key objective involves the piloting of initiatives or indeed implementation of change. The outcomes of the pilot pedestrianisation recently in Carrick on Shannon will certainly inform future such initiatives and the Council will not be committing to the request in this notice of motion regarding further pedestrianisation in the future. If and when such pedestrianisation initiative arises in the future, they will be implemented in accordance with all statutory requirements and consultation through the Councils executive functions."
Councillor Des Guckian gave the background to his motion and proposed that Council officials not to attempt again, the pedestrianisation of any part of Main St., or any other street, in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Councillor Finola Armstrong McGuire said pedestrianisation has been looked for by many people. Carrick-on-Shannon is a tourist town, and the pace has slowed down, people walk in a much slower pace and spend more time in the town centre and the new streetscape has worked.
The pedestrianisation was trialled over a few weeks when not much activity was taking place and she was disappointed it did not work. She said she hoped it would be trialled again as Carrick-on-Shannon is a changing town. She paid tribute to the Economic Development Department of Leitrim County Council for trialling it.
Councillor Sean McGowan said he did not agree with the motion, and he acknowledged the trial of the pedestrianisation got off to a bad start. Councillor Sean McGowan said he can see merit in pedestrianisation over weekends and he said the Council should engage with the businesses and the community and listen to them. Councillor Sean McGowan said he would like this revisited again next year and trialled again.
Councillor Enda Stenson said “you can never say never”, as it will happen again. Councillor Stenson acknowledged there was a difference of opinion on the matter, and he said to pass a motion in this regard would be silly, and there is no shame in trying out an initiative such as this, but it would be a bigger shame not to try such initiatives.
Councillor Thomas Mulligan said he agreed with the speakers on the motion and said there will be other instances where this will be put in place for a variety of reasons and occasions.
Mr Vincent Dwyer said the lack of vision, suggested by Cllr Guckian would be to do nothing and he refuted Cllr Des Guckian comments and his inflammatory language, The decision to introduce a pedestrianisation initiative is an executive function and such initiatives will continue to be trialled or introduced for the betterment of the town in conjunction with the businesses.
Councillor Des Guckian said people were very opposed to the trial, there was a lack of communication and the survey which was carried out was convoluted and it was not a proper survey.
Mr Vincent Dwyer said agreement was reached with businesses for a 4-week trial period.
Mr Darragh O’Boyle said the traffic management of the town during the trial period was controlled by the contractor.
Councillor Des Guckian proposed that the Garda Traffic Management Report be published, and he said signage was very poor.