*Pat Foudy. Photograph: Natasha Barton
NEW DATA analysing the traffic flow on Mill Road and Old Mill Road shows the route proposed to become a one-way system for vehicles and cyclists was used by eleven cyclists (0.2%) over a ten-hour period.
Over the course of ten hours on Tuesday, Inagh native Pat Foudy who founded Pat Foudy & Daughter Tyre Centre on Pound Lane over thirty years ago, undertook a survey to examine the volume of traffic on Mill Road and Old Mill Road.
As part of the draft Ennis local transport plan, both areas are to be affected by a proposal to make the Mill Rd a one-way traffic system.
Foudy’s survey was carried on Tuesday when all secondary schools in the locality were closed apart while some of the primary schools were closed.
Mill Road
08:45 – 09:45: 388 vehicles = 371 cars, 14 trucks, 3 buses, 0 bicycles.
12:30 – 13:30: 445 vehicles = 436 cars, 4 trucks, 1 bus, 4 bicycles.
17:00 – 18:00: 522 vehicles = 510 cars, 6 trucks, 3 buses, 3 bicycles.
TOTAL: 1355 vehicles = 1317 cars, 24 trucks, 7 buses, 7 bicycles.
AVERAGE: 451 vehicles per hour.
Old Mill Road:
10:00 – 11:00: 176 vehicles: 168 cars, 4 trucks, 1 bus, 3 bicycles.
11:30 – 12:30: 92 vehicles, 90 cars, 1 truck, 0 buses, 1 bicycle.
16:00 – 17:00: 176 vehicles: 174 cars, 1 truck, 0 buses, 1 bicycle.
TOTAL: 444 vehicles = 432 cars, 6 trucks, 1 bus, 5 bicycles.
AVERAGE: 148 vehicles per hour.
As per this survey, the overall estimated number of vehicles is 5990 over a 10 hour period using Mill Road and Old Mill Road which included 9 buses, 11 bicycles and 28 trucks. Therefore the findings show that 0.2% of the traffic is cyclists.
On page 226 of the controversial Ennis 2040 strategy, the data provided shows 39 percent of people walk as a means of transport in Ennis while two percent of trips are made by bicycle “which is comparable to Co Clare and the State average but below national targets. Narrow streets and one-way streets with limited cycle provision means cycling within the town centre is not currently an attractive option. Roads surrounding the core town centre are wider, however cycle track provision is largely discontinuous with priority given to vehicular traffic”.
