The second stage of the Ballina traffic management plan will be implemented at the end of the month with a number of changes in the direction that traffic may travel on streets in the town. The new management plan, which is the second phase of the development, will come into effect on Wednesday September 29 at 8am. The plan is aimed at discouraging through-traffic from the centre of the town when it has no business in the town. Streets that will be affected include Tone Street, Hill Street, Casement Street, and O’Rahilly Street. Traffic on O’Rahilly Street, Hill Street, Connelly Street, and Tone Street will now move in the opposite direction than it did previously, with Casement Street, Bridge Street, and a portion of Market Street becoming one-way only.
The go ahead for the plan was given by the elected members of Ballina Town Council at their monthly meeting this week. However there was consensus among the members that there were still some major problems with the first phase of the plan, especially in the Cathedral Road area of the town. All elected members reported having received complaints from members of the public about Cathedral Road and the difficulty in crossing the road as cars were travelling at speed on it. Cllr Willie Nolan asked that a road safety survey be carried out, which town manager Paddy Mahon agreed to do.
The members agreed to give the go ahead for the second phase to come into effect on September 29, which will be on a trial basis. Town engineer Michael O’Grady said staff will be on the ground to assist people during the early stages of the plan, constantly monitoring and noting changes that can be made to the plan should problems arise.
