Athenry market square

05-05-2021 11:01pm #1

First up, the Market Square is up for redesign to make it more people friendly

Public consultation is now open

Full details on the options and how to make a submission are contained in this pdf

I have to say, option 6 looks great

LadyMayBelle · 05-05-2021 11:46pm

Moving there in the coming weeks, brand new to it so hope to get a better sense and contribute!

Doctors room ghost · 06-05-2021 9:57am

Athenry badly needs an Aldi,Lidl,Tesco or SuperValu.until then it’s going nowhere.
Its a great town in a great location but for the size of it and for the population there is nothing in it.
Loughrea has 10 times the facilities, oranmore the same

Laviski · 06-05-2021 10:33am

parking for cars but no bikes or bike rack in the impression picture :pac:

intellectual dosser · 06-05-2021 11:33am

Deleted User wrote: »

First up, the Market Square is up for redesign to make it more people friendly

Public consultation is now open

Full details on the options and how to make a submission are contained in this pdf

I have to say, option 6 looks great

I'd agree with you on Option 6, it looks good although the drop off spaces would be ripe for abuse.

I wonder if the restructuring of traffic flows are dependent on further sections of the outer relief road being completed, or if there is a 'big picture' plan in the making.

06-05-2021 12:35pm

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Athenry badly needs an Aldi,Lidl,Tesco or SuperValu.until then it’s going nowhere.
Its a great town in a great location but for the size of it and for the population there is nothing in it.
Loughrea has 10 times the facilities, oranmore the same

There is approval for an aldi/lidl at the old co-op site. They tried for new permission on a much larger site and larger development but were refused. The existing approval looks like its going to be acted upon as they've recently appointed archeologists to go over the site

intellectual dosser wrote: »

I'd agree with you on Option 6, it looks good although the drop off spaces would be ripe for abuse.

I wonder if the restructuring of traffic flows are dependent on further sections of the outer relief road being completed, or if there is a 'big picture' plan in the making.

As far as I'm aware they are going to be stopping cars going through the arch at some stage too, which will require a change in the traffic flows.

biko · 07-05-2021 9:15am

Title change, OP please make one thread for each event as they come up.

irishgrover · 07-05-2021 9:18am

Laviski wrote: »

parking for cars but no bikes or bike rack in the impression picture :pac:

yeah that's a really poor rendering. If explicitly suggests
a.) we are making a square focused on people and pedestrian safety...
b.) but don't worry, you can still just abandon your car anywhere.

09-05-2021 2:15pm

Laviski wrote: »

parking for cars but no bikes or bike rack in the impression picture :pac:

Well spotted, I hadn't picked up on that but included it in my submission, hope others do too

TheSegal · 09-05-2021 4:16pm

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Athenry badly needs an Aldi,Lidl,Tesco or SuperValu.until then it’s going nowhere.
Its a great town in a great location but for the size of it and for the population there is nothing in it.
Loughrea has 10 times the facilities, oranmore the same

It would do the world of good but that absolute wanker that owns a big shop in the area seems to be blocking planning at every opportunity they get. They have ruined a lot of the town due to shops closing, but hopefully with more town planning like this revised center it'll make a difference.

1perriwinkle · 10-05-2021 10:26am

Laviski wrote: »

parking for cars but no bikes or bike rack in the impression picture :pac:

There is a bike rack in the picture. It was the first thing I looked for!
It’s very hard to see but it’s between two of the trees at the front/bottom of the picture. It’s rust coloured, looks like it’s 3 looped bars to chain a bike to.

31-05-2021 11:29pm

A truly bonkers viewpoint from Athenry Traders Group and one that has received a massive push back from the locals, the vast majority of whom seem to be in favour of option 6 (from what I can see on various facebook posts)

Also, saying they want Athenry to be like Westport.......its a mess and horrible for pedestrians

Athenry Traders Group Public Appeal:

We, the business community of Athenry, are appealing to the general public to support our campaign to Save Our Town, Save Our Businesses, Save Our Jobs.

The Regeneration Team at Galway County Council have released plans to close down Athenry Town Centre.

These plans include:
Reducing access to the town centre to One LANE ONLY at the narrow Bridge Street (Post Office) Junction.

Closing down Davis Street & Burke’s Lane. The direct effect of this will stop the circulation of traffic and will create serious bottlenecks at Old Church Street, J Glynn’s Corner, Northgate Street, Railway Crossing, New Line Junction, Caheroyan/ Arch Junction & Post Office Junction with direct knock on effects to the quality of life of all residents of Raheen Road, Tuam Road, New Line, Caheroyan Road, Boys School Road & Dublin Road.

Church Street will become One Way by default OUT OF TOWN. It is unacceptable that funerals, weddings, Church users, patrons of businesses on Church Street & Railway Station users will have to cross the railway line and head OUT OF TOWN.

Removal of all parking spaces including disabled parking in The Square.
Despite submitting an extensive submission last year, the plans we received are a direct opposite of what we stated must be included in plans for The Market Square/ Davis Street/Burke’s Lane, some of which are:
Complete overhaul of all surfaces, including footpaths & roads. Installation of new seating with lighting & CCTV, bicycle parking, disabled parking, enhanced planting & green scaping & raised pedestrian crossings at each of the four junctions in The Square.

Slow moving traffic flow maintained at all times similar to vibrant towns like Castlebar & Westport.

Retention of all existing parking spaces but changed to short term with twenty minute time limit.

Unobstructed access to all premises maintained.

No pedestrianisation of any street in the town centre.

Relocation of street traders to the Town Park. A safe, fully enclosed, under utilised location that is pedestrian/ child/ pet/cyclist & vehicle friendly with ample parking for both traders & customers alike.

The document attached is clearly biased against Options 1 & 2 bearing in mind these are the only options that maintain a traffic flow through the Town Centre.

We highlight Option 1 which is a direct threat to the people of Athenry to accept radical changes or the Town Centre will be left as it is.

We ask everyone to study Option 1 and compare it to Options 3, 4, 5 & 6 and ask themselves why the large dark shadow over Flanagans/ Central Bar/ AIB in Option 1 & 2 then brightens/ reduces & disappears in 3, 4, 5 & 6. Why are there no raised pedestrianisation crossings/ bicycle parking/ seating/ new footpaths/ canopies / green scaping/ planting or people in Option 1 but they all mysteriously appear in Options 3, 4, 5 & 6.

The purpose of this document, paid for with your tax payers money, is clearly to whip up public support for Options 3 to 6 in order to isolate the wishes of the business community and force us into accepting the closing down of the Town Centre. We will not accept this.

We will wholeheartedly welcome discount retailers to Athenry (exploratory ground work has commenced on one site) and these retailers will transform Athenry into a vibrant busy town. Reducing access to these sites in the town centre to one single lane at the Post Office is unworkable and unsustainable.
We view this document as a direct attack on the commercial viability of Athenry town centre.

We have put the Regeneration team at Galway County Council on notice we will fight their attempts to close down our businesses and the jobs we create.

The result of options 3 to 6 are simple:
Plenty of space to sit in a deserted town.
The choice is yours.

dinneenp · 01-06-2021 12:03am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A truly bonkers viewpoint from Athenry Traders Group and one that has received a massive push back from the locals, the vast majority of whom seem to be in favour of option 6 (from what I can see on various facebook posts)

Also, saying they want Athenry to be like Westport.......its a mess and horrible for pedestrians

Well that escalated quickly!

intellectual dosser · 17-09-2021 10:50am

The topic of greenways and pedestrianisation in Athenry came up in another thread, and rather than being scalped for going off topic there I thought I'd give this a bump and ask if anyone has heard anything about a decision being made on this? The Connacht Tribune predicted a decision would be made by the end of August.

06-10-2021 7:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117902945#Comment_117902945

Nothing yet

04-11-2021 12:10am

Some news @intellectual dosser

https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-news-desk/consultants-submit-draft-report-on-recommendations-for-redevelopment-of-market-square-in-athenry/

flazio · 04-11-2021 10:32pm

Might be worth looking at what's happened in Athlone. One way system brought in. Local traders objected and two way was reinstated. Few years later and the one way system is back and here to stay.

intellectual dosser · 21-04-2022 11:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118115907#Comment_118115907

I haven’t logged into Boards since that cutover several months ago, so a belated thanks for this.

Disappointing that there has been no developments since, that I’m aware of. I had wondered if there was a ‘wait and see’ over the now failed proposal for developing Athenry House and building a Lidl and Housing.

I did make a casual enquiry with a local counsellor several months ago but got nothing of substance in return.

Athenry market square

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