Killaloe bypass, Shannon crossing & R494 Birdhill-Killaloe

Bass Reeves · 10-03-2026 01:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300345#Comment_124300345

I am not sure if anybother pedestrianisation which completely seprated two iltra small urban area by a 10-15 minute walk. I generally have no issue with pedestrianised, however I can understand the effect it can have in small businesses in this situations. You obviously cannot with expressions like "not bothered"

I actually wonder do manyhere speaking about the pedestrianisation of it know the area. I live a bit away from it butknow the area well and can see the issues.

On the Ballina side there was a numberbof su essful business, the Centra, a couple ofcafe, a hardware store al just above the bridge. They have lost all thete oassing trade. If some one needs a coffee in the morningbor a litre of milk innthe rvening they will not come off the by pass for them

elperello · 10-03-2026 02:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300632#Comment_124300632

There's a very strong current in that area when Ardnacrusha is on full power.

Always a danger of boats striking the bridge or two boats colliding.

When a boat hits a bridge in a strong current it can be a tricky operation to rescue casualties.

There is quite a lot of traffic through the bridge especially during the fishing season.

The difference to incidents in a shopping centre or up 4 flights of stairs is that a roadway exists on the bridge.

With a bit of forward planning making the roadway accessible for emergency vehicles need not interfere with pedestrianisation.

I know it was discussed previously but I hope you're not offended by me raising the matter again.

Pete_Cavan · 10-03-2026 05:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300833#Comment_124300833

If some one needs a coffee in the morningbor a litre of milk innthe rvening they will not come off the by pass for them

But isn't that an issue caused by the presence of the new bridge, not by pedestrianising the old bridge?

riddlinrussell · 10-03-2026 08:11PM

I have to assume you don't live in the area yourself if you think it takes 10-15 minutes to walk the 180 metres across the bridge, are you doing that while carrying out an inspection of each stone?

Bass Reeves · 10-03-2026 08:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301749#Comment_124301749

Not totally. In every other bypass you can drive through the town or village and cone out the other side. But you cannot here. I used to be on the road a lot usedbto do 50k km a year. You get to know places to stop but I cannot see how this will not have much more significant impact on businesses than a normal bypass. It may not be as significant to Killaloe but it will be the deathnell ofvnany businesses in Ballina.

If I was on the road and wanted a coffee I just would not consider going into Ballina if I was in the road

Pete_Cavan · 10-03-2026 10:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124302368#Comment_124302368

That still doesn't make any sense.

You said; If some one needs a coffee in the morningbor a litre of milk innthe rvening they will not come off the by pass for them. If they need to stop for something, most people will stop somewhere that is on their route. In this case, the new bridge is more likely to be on the route if going beyond Killaloe/Ballina and the old bridge would involve a diversion.

If the old bridge is still available to drive on, I doubt many (any?) people will decide to drive through Killaloe and across the old bridge just to get milk/coffee/whatever. Their route has already been determined by the ease of using the new bridge, the availability of the old bridge is not going to override that in the vast majority of cases. Anybody with a specific reason for going to Ballina, they can still do so, either by driving across the new bridge or by parking in Killaloe and walking across the old bridge.

Do you regularly drive through other bypassed towns to get milk/coffee/whatever or do you bypass that town and stop somewhere else? Most people will take the convenience of a bypass when it is available rather than driving through a town/village. Simply being able to drive through a town/village isn't an incentive to do so, the same applies to the old bridge.

Bass Reeves · 11-03-2026 12:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124302879#Comment_124302879

IIt fairly easy to guess that once again we have someone that is not familar with the area. One thing I can tell you is in the middle of winter no one will be walking across that bridge to go get any few messeges, or a cup of coffee.

The reason you go into a town or village if you are on a journey or commuting if its bypassed is because you need something like fuel, a short break, a bite to eat etc and in a small town or village you expect to be able to drive through it. And yes I do becase there is often nothing outside some of them.

Pete_Cavan · 11-03-2026 07:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124303107#Comment_124303107

The reason you go into a town or village if you are on a journey or commuting if its bypassed is because you need something like fuel, a short break, a bite to eat etc and in a small town or village you expect to be able to drive through it.

Right, "because you need something" is the reason. However in almost all cases you will know ahead of time that you need fuel, a short break, a bite to eat, etc. Even if it means driving 10km further, most people would take the benefit of a bypass when it is available and stop somewhere else. People don't simply drive through a bypassed town just because they can.

Similary, if people need something, they can and will go into Killaloe/Ballina. Simply being allowed to drive across the old bridge isn't an incentive to do so or to stop and spend money which you otherwise wouldn't do. The opening of the new bridge will have changed peoples habits and driving routes, keeping the old bridge open to traffic isn't going to undo that.

One thing I can tell you is in the middle of winter no one will be walking across that bridge to go get any few messeges, or a cup of coffee.

That's nonsense. If that were the case, not a single person would have walked across the bridge in the middle of winter for previous years because it would have been even less attractive to do so when sharing the narrow space with cars. The whole middle of winter thing is just odd, in Ireland the weather can be the same in the middle of winter as in the middle of October or March, or any time between.

I'd be very confident that a before and after footfall count would show more people walking across the bridge post pedestrianisation than pre, in all seasons.

Bass Reeves · 11-03-2026 08:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124303252#Comment_124303252

Again I will go back to my point you are not familar with the area. Not just Killaloe/Ballina but the area in general. Do you know how far it is from the Killaloe end of the bridge to the topnof the hill in Ballina where the ahops and cafe are located.

If you are commuter traffic on that route and live within 10 miles of Killaloe/Ballina where else you can stop.

While a footfall count might shoe more people walking accross after pedestrian none of them will be going from Killaloe to Ballina or visa versa for to shop or a cup of coffee in winter.

You are right we can get weather for a lot of the year which will make crossing that bridge miserable.

It quite obivious that most posters here have not a clue about the geneeal layout of the area. Abd yes people do go through bypassed small towns and villages

flazio · 11-03-2026 08:34AM

Killaloe/Ballina is a holiday break day trip location. You turn up, you park up, you walk around. You're not on the way to another destination, this is the destination. It's popular, it always will be. And with proper signage and good algorithm (modern term for word of mouth) management the businesses will be found by the fat yank wallets.

breezy1985 · 11-03-2026 08:55AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124303107#Comment_124303107

I'm very familiar with that area and you are wrong about winter.

And that street in Ballina could not have a significant car based commuter trade. No coffee shop is staying open based on the few cars that could park up there.

KrisW1001 · 11-03-2026 10:15AM

If we ignore the fact that there’s still a filling station and convenience shop just south of the new bridge, and assume that through-travellers insist on calling into one or other village for a carton of milk…

If the bridge were open, nobody would divert across the bridge - even with reduced volumes of traffic it's still a one-lane bridge where you’re likely to have to wait for opposing traffic to cross. But the bigger problem is that the bypass has now become the shortest, fastest route from Killaloe to destinations on the other side of the river. Coming from the North, needing fuel or a carton of milk, Google says leave the bypass, call in to the filling station on New Road, continue south through Killaloe, join the bypass again and cross using the new bridge: 2.3 km. Use the old bridge and it’s 2.4 km (I used “by foot” because Google knows that the old bridge is closed) - that’s only 100 m longer, but if you’re driving, it’ll be a lot slower.

The trade here was always locals and people who stopped for a few hours, not irritated drivers who thought of it as a bottleneck to get through as quickly as possible.

BestWestern · 11-03-2026 06:59PM

Prior to the Bridge opening, it took forever and a day to cross it owning to traffic jams. You could never park, and ballina was never on my list of places to stop.

Now that the bypass is open, I've driven into ballina and stopped twice as it's a pleasure now. Throughput is down thanks to the bridge, but I'd wager that people stopping has increased.

Also, with no traffic jams, I'd saw that the air quality is much better.

Jesus, we really are a nation of moaners.

dennyk · 11-03-2026 07:19PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300213#Comment_124300213

And then complains that there's not enough parking in Ballina, so they can't get people to drive there…but stopping them from driving across the bridge from Killaloe to Ballina is hurting business? What?

Former Former Former · 12-03-2026 07:48AM

I think the point was that in most bypassed villages, the old road remains open and available, but not here. So if you were driving from say Birdhill to Scariff and the old bridge was open, you might have said, sure I'll take the old road and stop in at Ballina for a few messages, maybe get a coffee, etc. Or someone on the Ballina side might have said, I'll go to SuperValu but I'll stop at the butcher/pharmacy/whatever in Ballina first.

Now, you have to go into Ballina, get your messages, and then turn around and retrace your path back to the new road. While it's literally an extra five or ten minutes, it's also very likely that people won't bother their arses. They'll just take the new road and park at SuperValu or Lidl and do all their shopping there.

I'd say it's extremely likely that businesses in Ballina have taken a big hit, especially those not catering to tourists. Nobody is coming to 'walk the twin bridges' and going to the hardware shop while they're at it. Whether they just need to suck it up for the greater good is a different question.

However, if (as is claimed in the article), the council promised an extra 70 parking spaces to placate local business and never delivered, then that is definitely something that should be addressed.

BestWestern · 12-03-2026 08:37AM

Did anyone actually come into Ballina to shop in the first place owing to the traffic jam that was always there? Crossing the bridge added at least five to ten mins onto your journey.

steve-o · 12-03-2026 08:45AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124305944#Comment_124305944

Yes, that person driving from Birdhill to Scariff would have queued for the roundabout and then, having finally gotten to the roundabout, randomly decided to drive up to Centra for the messages and then queue for the roundabout again from the other direction

breezy1985 · 20-03-2026 07:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124305944#Comment_124305944

It's not extremely likely at all. People on the old commute would be mad to stop in Ballina when their were much better options at either end or on the journey.

Shops in Ballina can't take a huge hit from this passing traffic that never stopped anyway. The hardware shop wouldn't even be open during the main commute times.

Footfall is called footfall for a reason.

Killaloe bypass, Shannon crossing & R494 Birdhill-Killaloe

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