*Michael Barry shares his concerns with the proposals. Photograph: Natasha Barton
AN ENNIS business owner has said he is willing to commence negotiations with Clare County Council on delisting a protected structure which could prevent the Mill Road from becoming a one-way system.
Proposals in the draft Ennis local transport plan have caused a sense of shock particularly the aspects relating to the Mill Road and the subsequent knock-on effects on the Old Mill Road and Carmody Street.
Doora native Michael Barry has several business interests along Mill Road including Dan McInerney & Sons, Western Garages while he owns the buildings where Hustle Fitness, Talty Flooring, T&J Dry Cleaners and Sunrise Sunbeds are all located.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Michael expressed his frustration not to be notified by Clare County Council directly over the draft transport plan which he fears will have a detrimental impact on his business interests, on the level of communication from the Council on this he said it was “absolutely nothing”. “Ennis is a rural town, it is a rural area, it is a medieval town and we’re trying to apply a system that won’t work in such a town, we haven’t got to fully discuss or debate the plan. We’re using outdated figures to apply this system. We need to keep the arteries of Ennis open, we need to keep traffic flow open in Ennis and across Ennis, we need to keep Ennis accessible to road users who are the lifeline of this town, it seems we’re trying to appease a small minority”.
While he acknowledged there has been a public consultation period, Michael said he was “upset with the public awareness of the proposal. An event was badly organised from May 19th to 23rd in the Civic Room of Waterpark House, that information was transported to the headquarters of Clare County Council on New Rd, the public consultation failed to bring the detail of the draft to the public, the public are at a loss, they are ill informed and they don’t know what is happening, there’s a lot of issues”.
He stated, “I think the Council have failed to consult the proper people in this”. Michael believed the people behind the plan “prepared the views based on one percent of the population”. There has been a lack of preparation to show how the one-way system would work, he flagged.
Barry continued, “we have made a lot of mistakes in this town notably The Market building, the armadillos by St Flannan’s College, who is held accountable to waste taxpayers like this. How many people are using the cycle lane, is it less than 1%, are we appeasing the small minority with large upset to the majority.
What has gone forward is some waste of tax payers money, it is not going to work”.
Despite his many business interests along the Mill Rd, Michael first became aware of the plans late last week and has been “researching since”. He said, “Transport for me is the crucial word here, it is the lifeline to connect towns, the residents and businesses, people are able to operate through the town and move freely”.
A submission has been sent to the Council by Michael outlining his views including reopening the Maid of Érin roundabout to two lanes of traffic, “what they’re doing is closing down roundabouts, it is traffic limitations not expansions.”.
Michael confirmed that he is open to negotiations to delist a three-bay, two-storey former corn store which was constructed in approximately 1790 and is a protected structure on the Mill Rd. “The elephant in the room is the Barracks Building on the Mill Rd to which I’m open to negotiate, it is a listed building, I’m open to negotiations, that is the remedy of Mill Rd, delist it and move it back five feet”.
No approach has been made by the Council on this suggestion, he confirmed. “There is an answer to Ennis’ Blake’s Corner but I was never consulted, they’ll completely reroute the traffic around my businesses, I have four entrances between front and back and I can only enter one of them now but this isn’t about me, it is about all the businesses, the traffic congestion which will be caused, the removal of two-way systems, the changing of these will affect the circulation of traffic in Ennis, we will have created no-go areas and the businesses will starve, the traffic conditions will lead to locals deteriorating, the lovely green area by the Bull Ring which will make people afraid to let their children out, we can’t allow this to happen”.
If a one-way system was introduced, Michael said it would have “a massive detrimental effect” on his businesses. He calculated that his garage and Centra store would lose fifty percent of traffic and therefore a huge base of customers. “The research shows 2% of trips in Ennis are by bicycle, 39% are by walking so the Park and Ride is good, 51% of trips are by car but this draft is only looking at needs of the 2% to the detriment of local businesses and car owners, we’re appealing to the minority at expense of majority, the bigger picture has been lost.”.
Retaining the existing traffic arrangements for Carmody Street Mill Rd, Old Mill Rd, Pound Lane and Circular Rd is essential, he argued. “We have to return a more common sense approach here. The Council have to integrate more with the business people and the locals before trying to implement a plan as big as this because this could be detrimental to the town of Ennis. We need our car parking, we’ve lost hundreds of car parking spaces in the last decade which have not been replaced, the Council are out of date on their figures and that needs to be addressed, we need to leave the car parks alone, sometimes a little less done is a lot more done in the end”.
A spokesperson for Clare County Council in response to queries from The Clare Echo stated, “Clare County Council is delighted to receive submissions from residents, groups and businesses that are engaging with the public consultation on the draft Ennis Local Transport Plan.This is the preliminary draft of the plan, and it is important that people engage in the process, as they have been doing, ahead of further stages including detailed design and planning which includes a further public consultation before delivery”.
The spokesperson commented, “Two proposals contained in the plan that have generated some feedback include Cornmarket Street and the R458 Gort Road-Hospital Roundabout. The Cornmarket Street – Old Mill Road proposal requires careful consideration due to a lack of appropriate footpath provision at a location where there are preservation orders on a building. Again, this is a proposal that will undergo further detailed evaluation, design, and planning process. The R458 Gort Road Hospital Roundabout proposal needs to be considered to provide a link for active travel on the Gort Road and will require more detailed evaluation, design, and public consultation process. Clare County Council asks that the public, groups, and businesses to continue to engage in the public consultation process before Friday, June 27 by reviewing the draft plan and reports at: https://yoursay.clarecoco.ie/ennis-local-transport-plan and providing feedback on the Placechangers interactive mapping portal at: https://app.placechangers.co.uk/campaign/484/”.
