“Fail to plan and you plan to fail”
The €9 million plus rejuvenation of Liberty Square, Thurles is surely be welcomed. Improvements have been made both below ground and above ground, and most people will agree that the lighting fixtures and granite pavement choices for the square are aesthetically pleasing.
Nevertheless, the persistent presence of a maze of barricades, coupled with the disappearance of beloved trees and the apparent narrowing of the roadways, has prompted quite a lot of head scratching, eyebrow raising and questioning among locals of late.
With 4 traffic lanes reduced to 2, in Liberty SquareThurles ; [See HERE] how will ordinary street traffic pull out of the way, to avoid emergency vehicles, latter responding to any emergency incident. e.g. Ambulance / Doctor / Fire Brigade services?
Pic: G. Willoughby
Here are just some of the questions being asked by our readers and Thurles residents.
(1) When will the rejuvenation project actually finish? Rumours abound, but at best it is estimated to be possibly March/April 2022 and at worst it could be July/August 2022.
(2) As the pedestrian areas on Liberty Square expand and increase while road space decreases, will there actually be sufficient space for ordinary traffic to pull over to avoid emergency vehicles, e.g. ambulances and fire engines, latter responding to emergency incidents, not to mention the ability of 20 wheeler delivery trucks, to pass, travelling in different directions? [See picture above.]
(3) If plans are being aimed to deter traffic and attract pedestrians, what impact will this have on our surrounding streets and roads?
(4) Having removed our healthy trees in an act of what can only be described as sheer savagery, are there any plans to replant same?
(5) We have beautiful pavements and an abundance of pedestrian space, but what is going to be done to get foot fall on these footpaths?
(6) What plans are in place to support and stimulate the Liberty Square economy?
Finding the answers to these questions is proving difficult based on current plans.
Although limited consultations have taken place with local residents, business owners and other interested parties, same appear to be little more than token in nature with none of the submissions by residents being implemented.
Indeed, it would appear that a final version of the plan for Liberty Square’s rejuvenation has yet to be released to the public. Some locals worry that the absence of a final plan and completion date may be indicative of inadequate planning. As the saying goes “fail to plan and you plan to fail”. Let’s hope that this isn’t the case.
We could all do without the continued wastage of public time and money, as was experienced with the planning on the Clongour Road and Slievenamon Road Junction.
Question:
“(2) As the pedestrian areas on Liberty Square expand and increase while road space decreases, will there actually be sufficient space for ordinary traffic to pull over to avoid emergency vehicles, e.g. ambulances and fire engines, latter responding to emergency incidents/”.
Answer: We don’t have to wait for this to happen, it’s happening now. I recently watched a unit of the Fire Brigade take 5 to 6 minutes to get from the Premier Hall to the square. Siren wailing and lights flashing made no difference. Traffic jammed in all directions. What a mess!!!!
Originally put this comment in the wrong section.
“ (2) As the pedestrian areas on Liberty Square expand and increase while road space decreases, will there actually be sufficient space for ordinary traffic to pull over to avoid emergency vehicles, e.g. ambulances and fire engines, latter responding to emergency incidents”.
We don’t have to wait for this to happen, it’s happening now. I recently watched a unit of the Fire Brigade take 5 to 6 minutes to get from the Premier Hall to the square. Siren wailing and lights flashing made no difference. Traffic jammed in all directions. What a mess!!!!