No ‘secret agenda’ to pedestrianise busy Tipperary street under revitalisation plans
There is no “secret agenda” and no plans to pedestrianise a busy street in Tipperary as part of efforts to revitalise the historic town centre.
At the January meeting of the Thurles Municipal District, Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Smith said that there were no plans to pedestrianise Castle Street in Roscrea under the revitalisation efforts.
"Certain things have happened over the last week to 10 days that this council needs to be very clear on, and I’m very clear on my views, and that’s in relation to what our plans are for Castle Street,” Cllr Smith said.
"Something that I want to bat away on behalf of the council is that there’s some secret agenda that they’re looking to pedestrianise Castle Street. There is no secret agenda and there’s no commitment to pedestrianise Castle Street,” he added.
A public consultation is currently ongoing to hear from locals about what they would like to see happen to the historic area of Roscrea.
An event called ‘Revitalising Castle Street – community consultation event’ will take place at the The Black Mills museum in Church Street, Townparks, Roscrea on Thursday, January 22, from 4pm to 7.30pm, where people can go and have their say.
At the district meeting, Cllr Smith said that of the plans that are currently up for discussion, he would prefer to see a one-way traffic flow through the street, but that no decisions had been made for definite yet.
"I’m not in favour of pedestrianising Castle Street, I’ve seen the three different options, my preference is actually a one-way system, but I think it’s something that we can work on, and I think it is something that the businesses would look to, and would give very positive feedback to.
"I think the misinformation that’s out there is not helpful because there’s no secret agenda on my behalf, or on behalf of the council, there’s not even a whisper about pedestrianising Castle Street, and that needs to be made very clear,” the Fianna Fáil councillor added.
In response, a representative from the district’s engineering team said that there was absolutely no talks of removing cars from the street completely.
"I can confirm that without a shadow, there is no pedestrianisation plans that are being presented to the councillors or to the general public, that is not on the agenda or not for consideration by any party,” he said.