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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.

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loc5

go on chance it shir if theres a car coming up the other way -
rev your engine and play chicken with em;)

gona git you sucka:cool::P

Sligored

only 2 days to go - happy days for a frustrated east ward driver like me.

tedshredsonfire

yeah you will be able to see some of the model nilands displays in castle street while you wait in traffic there!!!
So if coming from east ward you travel I presume from abbey street turn left up teeling street across to high street then down high street and left on gratten street then try and turn on to o connell street but in reality when you start coming down high street I'm guessing you will hit traffic at conways newsagents then decide to turn left and down harmony hill where you will have to turn left on to John street anyway.
I may well be wrong I often have been before but I doubt it.
I wonder will Paddy Power takes odds on it being a disaster?

TequilaMockingBird

Can't you just go from Abbey Street to Castle Street, why would he be going up Teeling/High Street?

Basq

Driving through town yesterday.. and noticed the bus-stop back on O Connell Street beside Hargodons.

tedshredsonfire

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Can't you just go from Abbey Street to Castle Street, why would he be going up Teeling/High Street?

Cos theres a big sign says left turn only. Has been there for a few years but a lot of people still go straight on some people get tickets some don't.

Basq

Got a Driving Test on Friday so will be interesting to see whether I'll be asked to go down O Connell Street.

mickeyfitzray

There's a protest being organised for the re-opening of the street on Wednesday. if anyone is interested the support would be much appreciated.

TequilaMockingBird

tedshredsonfire wrote: »

Cos theres a big sign says left turn only. Has been there for a few years but a lot of people still go straight on some people get tickets some don't.

Ahh.

Well, it's a bit stupid, why on earth can you not go straight across?

Good luck Friday Basq.

dardevle

Sligored wrote: »

only 2 days to go - happy days for a frustrated east ward driver like me.

+1 on that......should take a bit of stress off the daily commute.:)

...

mickeyfitzray

Just as a matter of interest, do any of the East Ward residents think that opening up Bridge Street to two way traffic may have been a better option? It would definitely have been a quicker access route to the hospital and IT. The money spent on re-opening O'Connell Street could then have been spent on automatic bollards for emergency services.

dardevle

...

tbh i think it would be an absolute nightmare at the mall/lake isle road end of it, if you think of it in terms of large vehicles.
at least O'Connell street had traffic on it fairly recently...whereas bridge street has not been two way in recent memory and as such i don't think would be able to handle the size of vehicle or the volume of traffic that it would have to cater for.

.

mickeyfitzray

Maybe so, but I think the point those on the side of pedestrianisation are making is that a proper study should have been drafted by planners and engineers to look into the effects such a move would have. Or to come up with alternative solutions. Instead their advice was ignored.

The street was pedestrianised for three years. If the councillors really cared about access for the East Ward why in all that time didn't they try to find out an alternative solution?

The point I'm trying to make is the O'Connell Street issue is not about access, at least not for the Councillors. Thankfully the Eastern Bridge seems to back on the agenda so hopefully they can find a location for it that's fair to the residents.

Mint Sauce

anyone been down there today, a total mish mash of poles, railings, and now double yellow lines, a whole cars width from the pavement in places, anyone seen any plans for what exactly their doing, or are they just making it up as they go along

basquille wrote: »

Driving through town yesterday.. and noticed the bus-stop back on O Connell Street beside Hargodons.

hope you weren't driving down it, its not open yet

dardevle

mickeyfitzray wrote: »

The street was pedestrianised for three years. If the councillors really cared about access for the East Ward why in all that time didn't they try to find out an alternative solution?.

.

In reality there was very little consideration given to the the people of the east ward, at the time it was closed i believe it was a gambit by the county manager to make life hard on the residents of the east ward to accept the location of the bridge where he wanted it ( him and 1 or 2 well situated developers )... the bottom line is that O'Connell street should never have been closed without an alternate acceptable route in place first.

even if a bridge location was chosen in the morning how long do you think, in the current climate it would be before it was opened?

.

Basq

irish-stew wrote: »

hope you weren't driving down it, its not open yet

I only hospitalized four people..!

Was driving over Grattan Street towards John Street and looked down it.

tedshredsonfire

dardevle wrote: »

.
even if a bridge location was chosen in the morning how long do you think, in the current climate it would be before it was opened?

afaik the money has been set aside thats what the minister was down about last week to basicly say to the council get your act together or the money allocated goes and sligo wil lose its gateway status. Its also the reason cranmore regeneration has come out so strongly as the borough has lost 1m in funding due to not being able to get an agreement to what to do with it. as you say in these times plenty of other towns and cities are able to make these decisions and the funding will be directed to them instead I guess.

dardevle

...

so even if the money was available and the bridge did start in the morning:rolleyes: it would take approx 18 months to 2 years to complete.... thats 5 years of waiting for an alternative route for the eastward.

and just as an aside....when the minister was here last week talking money ( by the time he left the people of Sligo were due 130 million:( ) how come not one person asked him why O'Connell street had not seen a penny from the department of env in over 3 years.

....

mickeyfitzray

We stood to lose €100 million in funding because of the Councillors stubborness. They put the votes of the East Ward (not the people) before the development of Sligo. I'm not sticking up for the County Manager here but if he was trying to force the issue it was probably because certain Councillors were dragging their heels and fooling voters with their "man of the people" charade.

Thankfully, and thanks in part to the protesting and lobbying of the Minister for the Environment, the bridge is back on the agenda. I truly believe there is a solution there to please everybody if the politicians involved would co-operate both with themselves and the constituents they have been clearly ignoring. If Sligo develops to it's full potential we could be a thriving city.

mickeyfitzray

dardevle wrote: »

...

so even if the money was available and the bridge did start in the morning:rolleyes: it would take approx 18 months to 2 years to complete.... thats 5 years of waiting for an alternative route for the eastward.

....

You're putting a lot of faith in O'Connell Street being an access route for the East Ward. Firstly the traffic there at the moment is only bad at certain times of the day. Secondly, as has been said here before, it may cause more problems than it solves. I'm banging my head against a brick wall saying this but we need a traffic plan! If that finds that opening up the street is the best way forward then so be it. I honestly don't think it is.

dardevle wrote: »

...
how come not one person asked him why O'Connell street had not seen a penny from the department of env in over 3 years
....

Isn't that what the councillors are supposed to do? If we don't ask for it we won't get it. We have been told by same Minister to cop on to the potentail we have. That would suggest to me they are well aware of the fact that Sligo has remained stagnant for at least the past ten years.

TequilaMockingBird

From OceanFM:

The Mayor of Sligo was met by a group of protestors’ yesterday evening as he officially turned on the Christmas lights in the town.

They are opposed to the re-opening of O’Connell Street to traffic which takes place later this week.

It’s the latest in a series of demonstrations against the Borough Councillors decision to re-open the street to one lane of traffic on Wednesday.

Yesterday they jeered and protested as Mayor Jim Mc Garry turned on the lights.

The Mayor expressed his disappointment and said that they were taking away from the celebration at hand which was the start of the Christmas season.

Classy.

dardevle

....

really bad form that to fair..the Mayor was asked to perform the switching on in an official capacity by the chamber of commerce, yet some of those jeering the loudest were members of the chamber!!!
...

Sligored

tedshredsonfire wrote: »

yeah you will be able to see some of the model nilands displays in castle street while you wait in traffic there!!!
So if coming from east ward you travel I presume from abbey street turn left up teeling street across to high street then down high street and left on gratten street then try and turn on to o connell street but in reality when you start coming down high street I'm guessing you will hit traffic at conways newsagents then decide to turn left and down harmony hill where you will have to turn left on to John street anyway.
I may well be wrong I often have been before but I doubt it.
I wonder will Paddy Power takes odds on it being a disaster?

No ted,
I leave the mercy primary school , drive down burton street , high st , grattan st, oconnell st and then on to the hospital.
By doing this i avoid current bottlenecks at junction at st bridgets onto mail coach rd, st johns school , cathedral , and would hope that my journey time will be reduced by 10-15 minutes at 9pm each morning.
Sorry for being selfish but i am pi**ed off doing a lap of the town each time i want to cross it.

mickeyfitzray

dardevle wrote: »

....
really bad form that to fair..the Mayor was asked to perform the switching on in an official capacity by the chamber of commerce, yet some of those jeering the loudest were members of the chamber!!!
...

Where did you hear that? Where's the proof that members of the Chamber were jeering? The mayor was invited by the Chamber Of Commerce to switch on the lights and apparently he suspected they organised the protest which is unture. I was there after being informed by email and on the Walking Down O'Connell Street facebook page, both of which have nothing to do with the chamber of commerce although they have given support to our protests in the past. I'm not saying it didn't happen dardevle but you can't just make unfounded claims when having a debate like this. I could make lots of unsupported claims about Councillors which I believe are true but I haven't got the material to back them up.

The mayor has constantly ignored the growing support behind this campaign and even made fun of our methods and support on national radio. There was chanting and one man remonstrated with the mayor which got a round of applause but it wasn't half as "disgraceful" as the mayor made out. Yet again he claimed he deserved respect just because of his title. In my book respect should be earned and this man has done more than enough to lose it.

Now can we get back to topic? I made a couple of points in my last post which could be addressed.

totomcgrath

Sligored wrote: »

No ted,
I leave the mercy primary school , drive down burton street , high st , grattan st, oconnell st and then on to the hospital.
By doing this i avoid current bottlenecks at junction at st bridgets onto mail coach rd, st johns school , cathedral , and would hope that my journey time will be reduced by 10-15 minutes at 9pm each morning.
Sorry for being selfish but i am pi**ed off doing a lap of the town each time i want to cross it.

Sligo Red: I am an east ward resident. I have kids in school on the mall. They walk across the footbridge every morning. Could you not do the same? I'm afraid you should add lazy to that selfish label you give yourself...

I am very happy to add 10 minutes to my journey rather than give up a pedestrian civic centre of the town to walk with my children at weekends and socialise... though I doubt theres going to be that much difference after they open O'Connell Street in fairness, I think you are very optimistiic about your passage through town, as the same problem is going to happen at O'Connell St - Wine St as was happening at John St/Adelaide St. And wait till you see the tailbacks on hight street. I will be avoiding there for sure!

I believe an eastern bridge is essential, especially after hearing about all the funding thats going, imagine all the jobs that would create and boy do we need them here...

Our councillors are a disgrace and have let a personal agenda against the county manager get in the way of common sense and reason. I hope they make the right decision and pave the way for an eastern bridge route and return O'Connell Street to pedestrianisation.

Basq

totomcgrath wrote: »

Sligo Red: I am an east ward resident. I have kids in school on the mall. They walk across the footbridge every morning. Could you not do the same? I'm afraid you should add lazy to that selfish label you give yourself...

Ah to be fair.. that's a harsh and ridiculous statement!

Why should Sligo Red have to walk across the footbridge? People don't just use cars for transport - what about lugging goods etc?

totomcgrath

see this: http://sligotv.ie/2009/12/mayor-faces-protestors-as-christmas-lights-switched-on/ as an example of the wit and brevity of our local representatives. Watch while the mayor tries to name other Sligo streets, including "Grafton Street". I rest my case. Sligo has a mayor who describes his main street on national radio as dark and dangerous and then patently cannot name the adjacent street, one of Sligo's busiest shopping streets.. And we elected this guy!

TequilaMockingBird

Well that video was a bit of an own goal I think totomcgrath.

If I had brought my child to see the lights being turned on and that lot decided to protest then, at a children's event, I would have been furious tbh.

There is a time and a place.

The two women interviewed at the end didn't help your cause. One said "there was about 50 of us, actually we were the only ones here".

Lol. So this desperately needed pedestrianised street, which is crucial for public events (like em.. turning on the Christmas lights), was EMPTY except for protesters? Why wasn't it packed with this huge community that need it?

If the public aren't using it now (which anyone can see on a daily basis), let the cars have it.

(And, I see you are new here, calling another poster lazy would be considered rude.)

Sligored

totomcgrath wrote: »

Sligo Red: I am an east ward resident. I have kids in school on the mall. They walk across the footbridge every morning. Could you not do the same? I'm afraid you should add lazy to that selfish label you give yourself...

Walk from cairns hill with my 5 and 7 year old in the pi**ing rain to the mercy and then onto the footbridge and then to the hospital with a load of files. not realistic.

Call me lazy... get a grip... one thing i am not is lazy.

i will not resort to name calling but i think you should get the drift

mickeyfitzray

I'm a supporter of pedestrianisation as you can see from previous posts but calling someone lazy is harsh.

As for the comment about the two women at the end of the video (Denise & Tara) they were making the point that 50 people turned up despite the harsh weather & that they were the only ones there. I was there for the protest & I certainly wouldn't have turned up for any other reason. That doesn't mean people aren't using the street. I work in Dublin and can tell you that Grafton Street looks just as empty on a wet Sunday so this is a moot point.