The 2010 road works programme for the Ballina area was welcomed by the members of Ballina Town Council this week.
Town engineer Michael O’Grady speaking on the programme told the members he was anxious to get moving on the programme and to get some of the pavement works that need to be done started as soon as possible. Mr O’Grady said the council received a grant of €195,000 from the Department of Transport for the year, which was up by €18,000 on the previous year’s allocation but was still well down on the grants in 2007 and 2008 which were between €270,000 and €280,000.
Mr O’Grady also thanked the members of the council who had put aside €40,000 for footpaths, €40,000 for urban roads, and €70,000 for lane-ways in the annual budget bringing the total budget up to €275,000 for the year. He outlined where the money would be going for the year, with 25 per cent being spent on footpaths, six per cent on lights, 54 per cent on road pavement improvement, and 15 per cent on signals, signage, and lighting.
Fine Gael councillor Mark Winters complimented the programme and called on Mayo County Council to provide a comprehensive report for the members of the council on the road works programme that they will be carrying out on the roads in their control in the town, as the town councillors have been getting a lot of questions on these roads from the public.
Independent Cllr Gerry Ginty told the meeting that there were a lot of footpaths in estates covered under the programme of work. He said they should have been developed by the developers, not by the council. He also told the meeting that Belmullet is not mentioned in English on a single road sign in the town, which he said was political correctness gone mad. Cllr Ginty added that if Ballina is trying to market itself as a tourist town, Belmullet should be clearly marked on the signs in English as well as Irish to aid tourists.
