Mayor’s video shows bollards, bins and badly placed bicycle stands ‘cluttering’ West Street

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Bollards, bins, benches and badly situated bicycle stands are all adding to the “cluttered” streetscape in Drogheda town centre, according to Mayor Michelle Hall.

The Mayor this week captured on video the vast array of street furniture and infrastructure along West Street, footage which she shared on social media as part of a campaign calling for “more thought to be put into the streamlining of West Street.”

In response, Louth County Council have committed to a survey of the town centre, with the aim of removing any “obsolete or redundant” street furniture.

Speaking at the November meeting of Drogheda Borough District, she said: “I know it won’t come as a revelation, but people don’t think the town looks great, and when they think about Drogheda, they think about West Street.”

She said the ground surface and public bins were dirty, bollards are missing reflective strips, and there are four different types of bollard along one street, which only adds to the cluttered effect.

"We have two different types of streetlights as well, which doesn’t look great either.”

The Mayor carried out her own audit of the bollards, counting 186 along the walk from West Street to Narrow West Street.

"There is a bollard every five metres, which is a lot given the size of the road,” she said, adding that the mixture of colours didn’t help the aesthetics of the street..

"I don’t think a lot of thought went in to how all these pieces might be co-ordinated.”

She suggested that a number of “quick wins” could be achieved, including “wrapping the public bins” with the council logo, which is a standard in other parts of the country.

"We have 28 large flower boxes, but they are mostly all in one area. I’m suggesting that we remove some of the bollards and replace them with flower boxes to make sure cars aren’t parking there.”

There are also 17 bike stands, she added, but many are damaged because there are cars pulling up beside them.

“The table benches are absolutely filthy, every single day We have a responsibility in this town, and I hold myself responsible as well, to keep our streets clean.”

She submitted a motion calling for Louth County Council to “recognise the importance of creating an attractive, accessible and pedestrian friendly public realm with Drogheda town centre.”

She highlighted the need for “a review and rationalisation of existing street furniture and infrastructure, including, but not limited to bollards, signage poles, bins, guardrails and redundant utility equipment.”

Mayor Hall also called on the local authority to carry out “a coordinated audit of all street furniture and related infrastructure within Drogheda town centre to identify items that are unnecessary, redundant, visually intrusive, or obstructive to pedestrians and people with disabilities.”

She asked for the findings of the audit to inform a “phased programme of removal, relocation, or consolidation, with the goal of improving accessibility, sightlines, and overall visual coherence of the public realm.”

The Mayor told the meeting that any future additions to the town centre should be guided by a “clutter-free streets” policy that is linked in with regeneration plans, and prioritises “multifunctionality and a consistency of style and placement.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr. Pio Smith, who said there were “a lot of good things happening in the town centre, including the refurbishment of West Gate House, and the council actively working to CPO properties on Narrow West Street.”

He added that the lack of continuity in the infrastructure needed to be addressed.

Cllr. Anne Marie Forde added that pedestrianising West Street, and linking in the historical ties with St. Oliver Plunkett was the best way forward.

"I think we need to be strategic with what we allow on to West Street, to allow for the historic nature of the town to be utilised. If we want to bring people in we need to make it inviting.”

Cllr. O’Hare Stratton said that with the upcoming West Gate Vision project it was the “perfect time” to look at making the streetscape more coherent, and it was opportunity to ask “if we really need these bollards.”

In a written response, David Hanratty, Director of Service, said the council “confirms that all street furniture installations are already subject to strict evaluation criteria to ensure accessibility, safety and visual coherence.”

He added that non-council utilities must obtain a Section 254 licence under the Planning and Development Act 2000 prior to any installation.

"Following the lifting of Covid-related restrictions, several temporary installations have already been removed. The council is satisfied that current procedures strike an appropriate balance between maintaining a citizen friendly public realm and enabling beneficial infrastructure.”

He said that in light of the motion Louth County Council will review its installation criteria, and undertake a survey of Drogheda town centre “to identify obsolete or redundant street furniture for potential removal.”