XxxIt has been yet another turbulent week in the world of traffic and politics!
Our one way system has gone national - everyone is talking about it and the disruption it’s causing. The councillors are blaming the media for blowing the traffic jams out of proportion and bringing bad press to the city of Kilkenny when we should be only talking about good things during these difficult times. But how can we dress up the sheer anger and frustration of drivers and the worry and concerns of businesses who are without customers - the answer is we simply can’t. The media is here to report the truth and that is what we strive to do at all times. There was uproar on the streets and among business people and it is the media’s obligation to report just that. This was clearly evident from Monday night’s meeting of Kilkenny Borough Council where hordes of business people came out to wheel and deal and have their say. Some had a say. More hadn’t and were unhappy with how the dealing was being handled. However, the bottom line is they got some of what they wanted by the end of the meeting.
That is not to say that I disagree with a one-way system - on the contrary. I think that most towns and cities around the country has some sort of a one-way system in place in parts of the urban areas and therefore Kilkenny should also be able to find a way in which to make it work.
I think the council came to a very sensible decision to reverse the one-way along John St and Rose Inn Streets in order to see what the impact of that is on traffic and businesses.
Traffic on High Street is still extremely heavy but the new system is not to be implemented until tomorrow so we won’t have a good idea of how it’s working until late next week. This system needs to be given a shot. The Mayor was very upset that the one way was not given enough time to settle down and his Facebook comments have caused some controversy; however, Malcolm Noonan will always say what he feels and unlike other politicians there is not one speech for one person and another for another. Maybe his comments were unorthodox and not appropriate for his office - but he is a human being who makes inappropriate comments at times just like the rest of us.
So let another week go by and let us examine the new system next week - nobody can say that this hasn’t been a democratic operation - more people have had a say in this than in any other big decision taken by the council. So let’s hope this compromise is a success.
