Tramore Development Trust chairman Stan Nangle has expressed disappointment with the proposed one-way traffic system for the town centre.

Details of the County Council proposals are on public display at Tramore Library in Market Street and at the Council Offices in Tank Field and members of the public are invited to view them and make written comment.

If adopted, the plan would see Gallwey’s Hill becoming one-way up the hill; Main Street, from the junction with Patrick Street to the Hi-B corner, becoming one-way downhill; and the Upper Branch Road, from Queen Street to Tivoli Terrace, becoming one-way downhill also.

Mr Nangle, who has been lobbying for a one-way system for years, is not pleased with the proposals however. “I have requested the Council to do a review of traffic management in the town centre on numerous occasions over the past five years, and I have submitted written proposals for a one-way system going back as far as May 2003. The proposals the Council has come up with do not address any of the problems local people see on a daily basis, and would create a major bottleneck at The Cross”, he submits.

“Under the Council’s proposal, all traffic coming down Church Road would be redirected across in front of the Grand Hotel, through The Cross, and then either down Strand Street, to the junction with Turkey Road, or down Queen Street and Upper Branch Road to Tivoli Terrace”.

According to Mr Nangle, expected to be a Green Party candidate in the June local elections, this is a recipe for chaos in the town centre. “The area at the Cross is a prime business area with lots of pedestrians going to and from the Post Office and popular local businesses such as the Vee Bistro and Red Lane, and can get quite congested at certain times of the day even now. Diverting hundreds of vehicles a day from Church Road into this area would impact on pedestrian safety and may even discourage people from shopping in the area”

Having identified other problems with the plan, he said it was seriously flawed and predicted that many people would be very angry with the Council if it went ahead. “The Council should really have held a public meeting to explain their proposal to the people of the town and I have written to the Director of Services requesting that he do this before the closing date for submissions at the end of this month”, he said.