Readers will be aware and will forgive my rhetorical figure of speech when I state that “Checkpoint Charlie”, also known as the entrance to the Slievenamon Road Car Park in Thurles, has been eradicated some weeks ago, with the whole “Lock, stock, and broken barriers” now vanished into history.
Who destroyed the 2 year old badly pointed limestone wall close by, [See top middle of Picture 1 below and also the picture inset], remains yet another mystery.
We had forecast the demise of “Checkpoint Charlie”, (Same an effort to save the wage of one Traffic Warden), if you remember, in early October last 2022, [View HERE].
The overall costings involved in the installation of “Checkpoint Charlie” was initially, we understand €95,000 plus. What it cost to remove less than 6 months after its was put into operation, and its current ‘scrap value’, now remains a closely guarded secret; known only to those we elected.
Pic: George Willoughby.
However, there may be just one overall small saving grace in all of this waste of taxpayer’s money; which is unlikely to save the blushing faces of local councillors, their officials and Tipperary Co. Council.
See picture No.2. hereunder, note that I am referring to the two, now vacant, Plexiglas Perspex Acrylic coated parking ticket shelters.
Pic: George Willoughby
Here is a chance to create a ‘TFI Local Link’ bus stop between Thurles Shopping Centre and Lidl Supermarket, latter which is now, thanks to the total incompetence of Tipperary Co. Council officials, the newly created centre of Thurles town.
These two vacant Perspex coated ticket shelters would make for an excellent ready-made bus stop shelter for the loading and offloading of bus passengers, were a bus stop area to be carved into the existing grass coated island, southeast of the town.
Here earthen sods would be easily available to ‘turn’ by either Mr M. Lowry TD or Mr J. Cahill TD, enabling them to officially open the bus shelter on its completion; giving the false impression that either or both were helping to bring prosperity to their native town of Thurles.
Nicely said. Another alternative for these would be, perhaps, as shelters for fisherman while they fished in the newly created “lakes” (AKA potholes) on Clongour road.
We should challenge Minister for Transport Mr Eamon Ryan TD to ride his bike in Thurles. How come we never have pothole craters in Dublin city? Without doubt we have inherited the worst Councillors; Officials and Engineers in Ireland.