One-way traffic system for Nenagh

Calls for NTA to 'cop on' over bus stops

The long-awaited one-way traffic system planned for Nenagh is going ahead despite misgivings over the location of bus stops.

A key recommendation of a 2019 traffic report on Nenagh, the one-way clockwise system will involve Pearse St, Mitchel St, Emmet Place (changed direction) and Kickham St. Silver St will remain one-way but with a reversed flow in the direction of the Market Cross.

The traffic signals and mini-roundabout will be removed from these streets, along with pedestrian barriers. There will be well-lit raised pedestrian crossings - including a new one across the upper part of Kickham St - to help control vehicular speed. A 30kmph speed limit will be introduced.

Traffic emerging onto the newly-improved junction between Mitchel St and Sarsfield St/Emmet Place will be able to turn left or right, but buses and HGVs will be prohibited from turning left here.

While Tipperary Co Council wants to establish an integrated transport hub at Nenagh Railway Station, the National Transport Authority is not in agreement. Therefore, the new traffic plan envisages Dublin-bound buses continuing to stop on Kickham St, while buses heading in the Limerick direction will stop on Pearse St.

The plan aims to ease congestion and improve traffic flows in Nenagh's town centre, making the town more pedestrian-friendly and a more pleasant place to shop and do business. It seeks to take pressure off the Market Cross, where the signals are not coping with demand. The plan is based on a one-way system in Westport, Co Mayo, which is working well despite a complexity of junctions that Nenagh does not have.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Last week's meeting of Nenagh Municipal District heard that the council received 21 submissions in relation to the plan. Cllr Hughie McGrath said the biggest concern raised in the submissions was the positioning of a bus stop on Pearse St, an issue that local traders have "serious reservations" about.

Acting Senior Engineer Paddy Crowley said moving both town centre bus stops to the railway station remains a long-term aspiration for the council. Efforts to elicit agreement from the NTA would continue, and in the meantime the council would closely monitor the bus stop on Pearse St.

Mr Crowley said the council is looking at smart technology to monitor the bus stops and alert traffic wardens if cars pull into them.

Cllr Joe Hannigan described the absence of the railway station option as "a major hurdle". He did not think the alternative plan would work, especially considering the uptake in public transport. Nenagh could soon be served with 16 public transport buses, which would only add to the congestion at bus stops.

Cllr Hannigan also questioned whether HGV drivers would comply with signage directing them away from the town centre, and he wondered whether parking spaces would be lost as a result of the plan.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

Cllr Hannigan was concerned that implementation of the one-way system is an executive function for the council, and he asked for the matter to be put on hold until such time as a transport hub can be provided at the railway station.

"I think we need to get back to the drawing board and tell the NTA to cop on," he said.

Cllr Séamie Morris said the management report presented to the councillors was a summary of the 21 submissions, none of which resulted in any change to the traffic plan. He wanted a workshop to be held in future between councillors and the people who make submissions.

"What I'd say to people is this had nothing to do with us; it's an executive function," Cllr Morris said of the traffic plan.

He was mostly supportive of the plan but agreed that the NTA needs to "cop on" regarding the transport hub, and he called for a meeting with the transport authority on this matter.

Cllr Ger Darcy inquired about disruption during the construction element of the new plan. He pointed out that it would take time for people to get used to the new system and he asked if the council would have staff on hand to assist.

Cllr John Carroll said he has long feared that someone could be seriously injured or killed at the bus stops on Kickham St. He expressed surprise at the NTA stance on the railway station and called on the authority to "get off their high horse".

Cllr Carroll also expressed concern about HGV drivers swinging across the road at the Emmet Place junction. So too did Cllr Michael O'Meara, who wanted to know how the new system would be policed. He believed Nenagh and Westport are "two different animals" and he did not think Nenagh with its abundance of agricultural traffic could be compared with the Mayo town.

"The more I look at it, the more reservations I have," Cllr O'Meara said of the plan.

Mr Crowley said all of the submissions were reviewed and taken into consideration in preparing the plan. Those making submissions were generally in favour of the one-way system, he stressed.

There is a national push for integrated transport hubs and Mr Crowley described Nenagh as "ideal" for such a facility. The council would keep pressure on the NTA towards this end but it should not hold up implementation of the one-way system, which he pointed out has been talked about for years now.

Mr Crowley said the council would be engaging with the gardaí over driver behaviour and with general monitoring of the new system. He pointed out that additional car parking has been provided at Emmet Place and more would be provided once one of the bus stops is removed from Kickham St.

Regarding construction, Mr Crowley said much of the work can be undertaken in isolation and without affecting traffic operations. The council will strive to minimise disruption by working during the summer window when schools are off and by working at night, where possible, he said.