Munster Express Online

Michelle Clancy reports

Waterford City & County Council has appointed a consultant to ‘advise on the practicality’ of creating a new river crossing at Maypark.
At the February meeting of the Metropolitan District, Cllr Mary Roche (Ind) queried how advanced the plans were. “How feasible is this proposal? People living in the area are very interested in this?”, Cllr Roche said.
District Manager Lar Power explained that a high level bridge crossing was identified as the most viable option in the Council’s Planning and Transportation Strategy. This was a ‘couple of months off completion’, Mr Power said.
Cllr Roche also complained that the city’s Christmas lights are ‘all over the place’ and requested consistency in the Council’s Christmas lighting policy. “I’ve received a lot of complaints about them”, she continued. “The problem is not that we’re not spending money. It’s what’s being purchased that’s the problem.”
Responding to a query from Cllr Davy Daniels (Ind), Mr Power said a planning application for the proposed Michael Street development could be expected by end of February or early March. “We’ve had a number of meetings with the agents and we can expect movement on this imminently”, Mr Power noted.
Meanwhile, cycle lanes on the Tramore Road are in urgent need of resurfacing, Cllr Joe Conway (Ind) has said.
He complained that hazardous conditions in the lanes are forcing cyclists out into the motor lane to avoid potholes. Senior Engineer Conor O’Neill said the Council could only repair the potholes, as there was no budget for road resurfacing at the moment.
Also in Tramore, Cllr Jim Griffin (SF) proposed action on the laneways in the Riverstown area, which had seen a significant number of robberies recently. “Residents want some of the lanes closed, as was done in John’s Park years ago. The land is causing antisocial behaviour, it was never intended as a green area and we probably would fit a couple of social houses there, Cllr Griffin said.
Cllr Blaise Hannigan (Ind) said a proposal to block up the laneways was first brought by Tramore Town Council back in 2008 but the local authority had ‘reneged’ on this.