Cllr Joe Kelly
continuing to face diffi culties
navigating The Quay’s new
layout, according to a local
councillor.
Speaking at the May Metropolitan
District meeting
of Waterford City & County
Council, Cllr Joe Kelly (Ind)
said he was receiving many
complaints about the new
design which often resulted in
traffi c being “at a standstill”.
He highlighted two recent
incidents involving the emergency
services which had
been brought to his attention.
“An ambulance coming
from the Rice Bridge direction
had to travel the entire
length of The Quay on the
opposite side of the road past
The Clock Tower before it
could get onto the right side
of the road due to the volume
of the traffi c,” he said.
“Two weeks beforehand, a
fi re engine had to come down
The Quay with its wheels up
on the median,” he added.
Cllr Kelly asked if the
council had received any
reports about emergency
vehicles having diffi culty
using The Quay.
Cllr Pat Fitzgerald (SF)
said he agreed with Cllr
Kelly and said he recently
had problems travelling along
The Quay himself.
Senior Engineer Ray
Mannix said he had been
speaking with a member of
the ambulance service.
“He categorically told me
that there was no issue with
The Quay,” said Mr Mannix.
He said the issue of emergency
vehicles was specifi –
cally taken into consideration
when working on the new
layout on The Quay.
“Unless there was somebody
totally illegally parked
or causing an obstruction,
there is no reason why an
emergency vehicle would
have to travel the wrong way.
I just don’t accept this idea
that The Quay is a disaster,”
he said.
Mr Mannix said the works
which had been carried out
on The Quay were intended
“to reduce traffi c speeds and
to make it safer for pedestrians
to cross from the car
parks into the city centre”.
