O'Connell street protest rally

tedshredsonfire

There is a protest meeting outside the town hall this monday at 7.15pm. Just show up, bring a placard if you want but mostly rally others as well please, this is a time to be counted and the opportunity to do something about it. Keep the street closed and lets not go down this retrograde route.

tedshredsonfire

just saw here its 7.45 for 8 sorry http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=6394

Johnny Giles

Nah. Street should be re-opened. I'll stay where I am. Simple as that.

Was down there yesterday and it was like a desert. Nobody to be seen. It needs a bit of life. Bring the traffic back.

shanec1928

should never have being closed if they were thinking about it start of with weekends and go on but to just close it straight away was just a joke

tedshredsonfire

petition of over 2500 disagree guys be interesting to see how many turn up on the night.

starbelgrade

I don't see any benefits to re-opening O'Connell St. It's not like there's much traffic around the town anyway, unless you like driving around Tesco carpark looking for a space.

redarmyblues

wont be there, open it up please.

loc5

id say a lot of people dont want it reopened but no one will chance showing their face
but yokes are gone to big for a horse and cart street like that if its reopened itll be single lane how would you get 2 big toyotas or fords shoulder to shoulder down there with out them whackin off each others rear view mirrors
but then... well maybe???

Radharc na Sleibhte

tedshredsonfire wrote: »

petition of over 2500 disagree guys be interesting to see how many turn up on the night.

A petition? Oooh now they have to listen to you.....

I'm not being smart but the powers that be didn't listen to anyone when closing it and they won't listen to anyone now either.

I personally don't care either way to be honest, but if it was up to me I'd probably close it on weekends.

To think that a few signatures or a march will make a difference to these people is just a waste of time.

Good luck anyway because I would love to see people power make a difference for once but I don't fancy your chances, particularly not in Sligo.

dardevle

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won't be there-

i'll be happy to see it re-opened......:)




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LadyDotty

I'd like to see it remain pedestrianised.

Events over the passed few months organised on the street have definitely brought extra business to the shops on the street as the traders have confirmed. It has highlighted an opportunity for the local council,local businesses and other organisations to use the street to draw crowds to O'Connell Street.

The Chamber of commerce, the O'Connell Street Traders Association, and 2600 signatures which were collected on the street ,and in surrounding neighbourhoods provide a public show of support for the street to remain pedestrianised.

starbelgrade

MikeySligo wrote: »

A petition? Oooh now they have to listen to you.....

I'm not being smart but the powers that be didn't listen to anyone when closing it and they won't listen to anyone now either.

I personally don't care either way to be honest, but if it was up to me I'd probably close it on weekends.

To think that a few signatures or a march will make a difference to these people is just a waste of time.

Good luck anyway because I would love to see people power make a difference for once but I don't fancy your chances, particularly not in Sligo.

I love your defeatest attitude. Giving up is so much better than even trying. Why hold a placard, sign a petition or mount a protest when you can just sit back & say "bah, what's the point, no one listens anyway?"

The previous may never change anything, but the latter has no chance whatsovever.

The difference between the two is hope and I know which one I would choose.

bobcar61

loc5 wrote: »

how would you get 2 big toyotas or fords shoulder to shoulder down there with out them whackin off each others rear view mirrors
but then... well maybe???

Do you not remember the street before it was closed, buses, cars, vans, lorrys etc were using the road. Cars were often parked on the footpath and we still had to drive down.

I say open the street but only for peak times, ie..between 08:00 and 10:00 in the morning and then again maybe at 4:30 to 7:00 in the afternoon/evening.

In fairness that's really the only time when there is any problems with traffic.

samadhya

MikeySligo wrote: »

A petition? Oooh now they have to listen to you.....

I'm not being smart but the powers that be didn't listen to anyone when closing it and they won't listen to anyone now either.

Defeatist is not the word - it's this attitude that has kept Fianna Fail in power and which re-elected them this year after it was evident they contributed to the destruction our economy. Stand up for yourselves - it's not just about putting your signature on a petition, it's this, in combination with being present on the night, demonstrating to the councillors that the petition wasn't a once-off and that this is a real issue for Sligo people. Use your voice!

Also, it's not just about not being able to see the advantages of closing the street - it's about the massive disadvantages if it's closed. Another public space lost to the dictatorship of the car. Sligo Live, Culture Night, O'Connell St Festival and more - all these great events lose a prominent space in the centre of town. The businesses will be vulnerable to a major loss in trading if people are just pulling up on the footpath to run into one shop and then driving off again - no strolling down O'Connell Street to browse.

As for the desperate habit of pulling up on the footpath - this will once again mean that people in wheelchairs and with baby buggies are forced into the traffic to get around cars pulled up on the street. I recently took my grandfather for a walk in his wheelchair from the hospice where he is recovering from a stroke. We went about 20 yards down the street and had to turn back because there were cars parked on the footpath and I couldn't move the wheelchair around them. He was so disappointed, three months in a bloody nursing home and the once opportunity I had to take him out of that environment on the weekend spoiled by selfish ignorants in cars. I left a note on the windscreen of each car, very polite, explaining the situation, with my phone number - do you think one of those drivers called to explain? - of course not.

Keep the traffic off O'Connell Street and make at least one little part of Sligo a more pleasant place to be.

dardevle

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in fairness.... anything that the Sligo chamber of commerce endorse will always arouse my suspicion and hardly (if ever) get my vote.....:cool:





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Radharc na Sleibhte

Its not being defeatist starbelgrade, its being a realist.

The reason for my "bah, whats the point" attitude is that as I said I don't care either way. And before someone says it, I have plenty of interests in the community that I take an active involvement in, but this, like most people in Sligo, doesn't really matter to me. If it were up to me, I'd open it 6 days a week.

Samadhya, I never miss my vote, and I would never be a Fianna Fail voter locally or generally. That has nothing to do with my attitude towards O'Connell Street whatsoever.

TequilaMockingBird

This always annoys me. We have an enviable pedestrianised area already - one that is actually finished. Not a blocked up main thoroughfare that even in the good times was practically deserted. Rockwood Parade is woefully underused, and could host any event that a town this size needs.

It should never have been closed in the first place, talk about throwing money away. I still believe it was closed just to facilitate the developers building Johnsons Court, and what a success that is...

Radharc na Sleibhte

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

it was closed just to facilitate the developers building Johnsons Court

......hmmm, interesting theory.....never copped that.

tedshredsonfire

don't think it was closed to facilitate J court but would probably have hindered it if anything by putting more traffic up John street where most of the constuction deliveries went if memory is right.

dardevle

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coincidentally...... it closed when most of the construction ar the rear (john st ) was practically completed and they had begun working on the O'connell street facade.:rolleyes:



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redarmyblues

It seems that this so called protest is being organised by that most odious of local organisations the Sligo Chamber of Commerce. Business interest groups don't hold protests they lobby and that is what this is.

Anybody planning to attend this event ought to be aware that they will associating with the most hated group in Sligo.

animha

Hi folks, I'm a blow-in, just recently moved to Sligo and I would really like to see O'Connell street become the pedestrianised beautiful thorough-fare that a town like Sligo deserves; it deserves a heart.

Reopening O'Connell St would be taking 10 steps back and I think it would be such a shame. Every other thriving town in Ireland has a pedestrian friendly retail street which hums with activity, Sligo deserves no less.

Get out there and do something positive, I don't believe in politics, just action!:)

Johnny Giles

animha wrote: »

Every other thriving town in Ireland has a pedestrian friendly retail street which hums with activity, Sligo deserves no less.

Not every thriving town has one. In Sligo's case the town would benefit more from re-opening the street to vehicles.

samadhya

The Mayor of Sligo, Cllr Jim McGarry has ignored the democratic right of Sligo constituents by locking demonstrators out of the council chambers while the Council undertakes a vote on whether or not to reopen Sligo's O'Connell Street to traffic. The demonstrators gathered at the Council Chambers at 7.30pm this evening (Mon 02 Nov) to express public dissatisfaction at the proposed reopening of the street to traffic on 09 December. Public support for the street remaining pedestrianised has been growing over the past few months with thousands of members of the public signing petitions and emailing and calling Sligo's Councillors. Many members of the public chose to exercise their democratic right by being present at the vote this evening, yet Cllr McGarry refused them that right by locking the chamber doors. (The result of the vote has not yet been announced, as of 9pm this evening)

LadyDotty

redarmyblues wrote: »

It seems that this so called protest is being organised by that most odious of local organisations the Sligo Chamber of Commerce. Business interest groups don't hold protests they lobby and that is what this is.

Anybody planning to attend this event ought to be aware that they will associating with the most hated group in Sligo.

Hi there,

My name is Denise and I am a pedestrian of O'Connell Street. I walk down it every day of my working week.

I helped organise the rally, and I do not work for the Chamber of Commerce, nor do the people who organised it.

They helped spread the word.

Thanks.

redarmyblues

LadyDotty wrote: »

Hi there,

My name is Denise and I am a pedestrian of O'Connell Street. I walk down it every day of my working week.

I helped organise the rally, and I do not work for the Chamber of Commerce, nor do the people who organised it.

They helped spread the word.

Thanks.

http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=6394

When I followed this link last Sunday, the Sligotoday site stated that the gig was been organised by the Sligo Chambers of commerce and its friends and families. Today I see that information has being removed, one grows more and more cynical. Who exactly did organise the "protest", perhaps we should be told.

tedshredsonfire

redarmy I was there from the chamber but afaik it was organised by several groups. I know Jimmy mcgarry asked that 6 people from each group there come into the town hall and called out o connell street traders, cranmore regeneration, sligo chamber and two others that I can't recall the names of. Jude devins was the only one who voted againest the reopening and proposed a motion of at least holding off the opening until they had a traffic management plan to deal with but the other councillors don't seem to think a traffic management plan is needed prior to reopening the street.
Now where's that banging your head off a brick wall smiley.

bonzos

tedshredsonfire wrote: »

petition of over 2500 disagree guys be interesting to see how many turn up on the night.

Would you not be better offf protesting about the cancer services....what a joke!2500 my arse

Radharc na Sleibhte

bonzos wrote: »

Would you not be better offf protesting about the cancer services

Fat lot of good that did too....!
I took part in numerous protests for that, but I'm not stupid enough to think anyone in this country is gonna listen to what the public want.
Petitions mean absolutely nothing.

ryanch09

starbelgrade wrote: »

I don't see any benefits to re-opening O'Connell St. It's not like there's much traffic around the town anyway, unless you like driving around Tesco carpark looking for a space.

you obviously haven't seen the town at rush hour each morning. It takes me almost 45 minutes to get to school each morning. This street needs re-opening

darealtulip

ryanch09 wrote: »

you obviously haven't seen the town at rush hour each morning. It takes me almost 45 minutes to get to school each morning. This street needs re-opening

You dont remeber it when it was opened then? You just have one more street to stand still in.

I would open the street just during rush hours, Sligo only has a traffic problem in two small windows of the day.

bobcar61

Your right Darealtulip, I said that earlier as well that it need to be opened just for a couple of hours each morning!

LadyDotty

ryanch09 wrote: »

you obviously haven't seen the town at rush hour each morning. It takes me almost 45 minutes to get to school each morning. This street needs re-opening

No the street does not need to be re-opened, we just need a decent traffic management system(and co-ordinated traffic lights!)... and perhaps some qualified people in power. A possible alternative put forward has been the reopening of Bridge Street to two-way traffic. This would offer east ward residents easy access to the hospital/IT Sligo etc.

If you take a look at our borough councillors who are in power at the moment you may notice that none of them are experts in town planning.

They have also ignored advice from their own consultants and experts in the field of town planning i.e. engineers and planners. And have also shot down any attempt at a traffic plan(suggested by Cllr Jude Devins and the Borough Meeting on Nov 2nd).

O'Connell Street is the centre of our town. As we near Christmas the foot fall on the street is going to be increasing. The Borough Councillors wish to open this street on Dec 9th, not only will this affect pedestrians, but also the O'Connell Street traders, and the traffic system around town already.

And hey we're on facebook, it started on Tuesday Nov 10th and we have 1391 fans and growing. There are people on there that are also East Ward residents on the page too. Our councillors have tried to divide us, but they have united us far beyond what they could ever imagine.

We all want to keep our feet on our street. Tomorrow November 15th is World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims. Hopefully our councillors will do the right thing and remove traffic from a heavily populated street.

Dot

dardevle

LadyDotty wrote: »

We all want to keep our feet on our street. Tomorrow November 15th is World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims. Hopefully our councillors will do the right thing and remove traffic from a heavily populated street.

Dot

in order to keep your feet on the street it may be necessary to take your head out of the clouds....i stood on the top of O'connell street yesterday at 2;30 pm (saturday afternoon ) and counted an average of 28 people from one end of the street to the other - hardly the teeming mass of humanity that some would have you believe use the street form dawn to dusk!.... notwithstanding that i too will be remembering all the O'Connell street road traffic victims today:rolleyes:


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mickeyfitzray

dardevle wrote: »

in order to keep your feet on the street it may be necessary to take your head out of the clouds....
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It's this kind of attitude that gets me. All this talk of "head in the clouds," "rose tinted glasses" and "we're not Copenhagen you know!" Well what's wrong with being optimistic and wanting more for Sligo? Of course a thriving city isn't going to spring up overnight after pedestrianisation, that's something that with a bit of effort will happen in time. Opening up the street to traffic means were going to remain stagnant.

I've come across a lot of points from people who want the street opened to traffic and some of them are very valid points which need addressing. But enough of this defeatist attitude please. If you don't think Sligo has a realistic chance of becoming a thriving city over time then, with all due respect, maybe it's time to take your head out of the sand. Sligo has an extremely rich cultural history and is full of creative and hard working people.

I understand the concerns of East Ward residents, my mothers family were brought up there and I lived in Doorly Park myself for a year. I still have relatives and friends there. However, the idea that opening up O'Connell Street to cars will alleviate the traffic situation is misguided and short sighted. Personally, I believe opening up Bridge Street to two way traffic would be more convenient and provide quicker access to the hospital and IT for East Ward residents.

BUT... I'm not an expert and so can't say if this will definitely work. That's the whole point of this argument. Nobody knows for sure if opening up the street will do any good because the Councillors haven't even had a traffic plan drawn up! Now, does this not strike anyone else as ridiculous? I work in South Dublin County Council and when explaining the situation to work mates they were dumbfounded. We need to take the advice of our planners and engineers (which from what I hear have already been ignored) and move on from there.

Radharc na Sleibhte

mickeyfitzray wrote: »

Personally, I believe opening up Bridge Street to two way traffic would be more convenient and provide quicker access to the hospital and IT for East Ward residents.

Huh, not a bad idea.
I've never heard anyone mention that idea before.

lubie76

mickeyfitzray wrote: »

Personally, I believe opening up Bridge Street to two way traffic would be more convenient and provide quicker access to the hospital and IT for East Ward residents.

Not sure this would work as too many junctions at both end. Sounds like a huge risk of bottleneck traffic. Similar to the problem at John Street, Adelaide Street junction. Plus, if an ambulance did have to get through at peak traffic times, it would be bedlam.

I think Shop Street in Galway is great. Open til 11am every morning for traffic. Seems to work for them. Something has to be done as it is an absolute embarrasment how bad the peak time traffic is in Sligo for a town with a relatively low population.

mickeyfitzray

MikeySligo wrote: »

Huh, not a bad idea.
I've never heard anyone mention that idea before.

Which is why we need debate on the issue and ideas from the experts. I didn't think of Bridge Street either until it was pointed out to me. Yes there is a possibility of a bottleneck but that's what's going to happen at the bottom of O'Connell Street as well.

The whole point I'm trying to make is that we have to talk about the issue openly & listen to the planners & engineers who have so far been ignored. It's one thing hypothesizing about what will happen if we open up this or that street but we're not going to know for sure until a proper traffic management plan is drawn up.

At the last meeting after the Councillors decided to remove pedestrianisation from the development plan, Councillor Jude Devins suggested that the decision be deffered for two months for a plan to be drawn up and to investigate the possibility of opening Bridge Street to two way traffic. Not one single other Councillor seconded it. Make of that what you will.

Radharc na Sleibhte

When is O'Connell Street due to open back up?
Is it this side of Christmas or are they putting the public toilets in first?

I don't think Jude Devins is particularly liked by the sounds of things. That's not the first time I've heard him being shot down. Hmmmm a councillor not liked by his colleagues? Sounds like one to vote for. Pity he's not an independent as they're all as bad as each other.

mickeyfitzray

December 9th I think is the date. Ridiculous given the busy season approaching.

Don't even start on the toilets!

redarmyblues

the engineers and experts gave us the mid block route in preference to a western by pass, to the
amazement of the engineers working on the colloney by pass.
The mbr was insisted on by our friends in the chamber of commerce and failed to make the desired impact on traffic. You would think those parties would be ashamed.
T

magnumlady

http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=6653

Tillotson

redarmyblues wrote: »

the engineers and experts gave us the mid block route in preference to a western by pass, to the
amazement of the engineers working on the colloney by pass.
The mbr was insisted on by our friends in the chamber of commerce and failed to make the desired impact on traffic. You would think those parties would be ashamed.
T

The mid block route was not supposed to be an alternative to the western
bypass. We were supposed to get both, the western bypass was always the
long term solution. I'm no fan of what the chamber of commerce but it seems
they get blamed for everything that goes wrong in Sligo.

Declan Bree was the one who voted against the fly-over for traffic passing
through on the mbr making it next to useless. If you want to be angry at someone maybe you can start with him.

dardevle

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let's see if i have this right then.... "dude" devins has somehow become the paragon for local politics, the chamber of commerce are not such a bad lot and the inner relief road is all that and a bag of chips:eek:




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mickeyfitzray

dardevle wrote: »

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let's see if i have this right then.... "dude" devins has somehow become the paragon for local politics, the chamber of commerce are not such a bad lot and the inner relief road is all that and a bag of chips:eek:




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I'm only stating facts. Jude Devins was the only Councillor who seemed to display any serious thought and foresight in the matter. Maybe you could state why you dislike him by providing us with facts instead of vaguely reffering to him as "dude." I'm not being smart, I just think this issue deserves proper discussion. To be honest I'm not aware of his record in other matters but since this one I've been keeping tabs and he seems to be quite forward thinking. I'm open to being proved wrong as everyone should be.

As for the Chamber Of Commerce, they may not be a "bag of chips" but in this matter they have got it right as far as I'm concerned.

dardevle

mickeyfitzray wrote: »

I'm not aware of his record in other matters but since this one I've been keeping tabs and he seems to be quite forward thinking. I'm open to being proved wrong as everyone should be.

suffice to say that my 'opinion' of the councillor does not tally with yours....this is just my opinion as one who is aware of his record in "other matters"- glad to know that you will be keeping tabs on him from now on.



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mickeyfitzray

dardevle wrote: »

suffice to say that my 'opinion' of the councillor does not tally with yours....this is just my opinion as one who is aware of his record in "other matters"- glad to know that you will be keeping tabs on him from now on.

.

Again, your claim is extremely vague and unsupported. Unless you are prepared to elaborate your comments will have to be ignored.

redarmyblues

Tillotson wrote: »

The mid block route was not supposed to be an alternative to the western
bypass. We were supposed to get both, the western bypass was always the
long term solution. I'm no fan of what the chamber of commerce but it seems
they get blamed for everything that goes wrong in Sligo.

The Western bypass was offered as the alternative to the MBR. The MBR was heavily supported by the executive of the local authorities, the Chamber of commerce and its in house magazine, aka the Sligo Champion. The Corpo voted for the MBR by one vote, the then Coaltion govenment minister rejected the proposal as foolish. The current shower were then elected, the MBR had new life and a public inquiry rubberstamped I mean decided in favour of the MBR instead of a Western Bypass. Thus Sligo became the only urban area in Ireland, nay in Europe, to drive a road through its centre in order to relieve congestion in its centre.

Tillotson wrote: »

Bree was the one who voted against the fly-over for traffic passing
through on the mbr making it next to useless. If you want to be angry at someone maybe you can start with him.

The was never such a pie in the sky scheme as a flyover, such a scheme was at least impractical, probably not possible and certainly not desirable. Imagine having four lanes of traffic hurtling through our little town thirty feet in the air. My God the mind boggles, how was local traffic to enter onto and leave such a road.
Furthermore Declan Bree has never had a veto on the Borough Council any proposal put in front of that august body is decided by a majority vote.

Mint Sauce

so any ideas if they are reopening to traffic or not, seen they are widening the kerbs at the john st end with bricked pathing, and also at the tobergall lane enterance, shame they wouldn't tidy up the rest of it whilst their at it

Mint Sauce

irish-stew wrote: »

so any ideas if they are reopening to traffic or not, seen they are widening the kerbs at the john st end with bricked pathing, and also at the tobergall lane enterance, shame they wouldn't tidy up the rest of it whilst their at it

oppps, just seen this on the sligo coco website

Roadworks and civil works ongoing on O’Connell Street. Works are expected to last 3 weeks. Disruption will be kept to a minimum. These works are essential to accommodate the reopening of O’Connell St to vehicular traffic.

sligono1

its a street that has not got any TLC for a very long time its in bad need of it,its a very drab street compared to many main streets of our towns nationwide