Proposal to pedestrianise the main street in major Offaly town stirs mixed feelings

The community group Birr 20:20 discussed the idea of pedestrianising Birr's Main Street during a recent meeting.

There are mixed feelings in the town about the proposal, with some for it and some against. It's a subject which has been discussed many times over many years. If it were to go ahead then it would probably run from the junction with Connaught Street down to Market Square.

Cllr John Carroll told the meeting that some people have complained to him that there are too many cars on Main Street, with a lot of cars driving down it on a regular basis.

“Some people have said to me,” he remarked, “that greatly reducing the dominance of the car on the street would be a very good thing, both for locals and for tourists. They point out to me that making about two thirds of the street pedestrian would encourage more tourists to stroll and browse in the area.”

Some people would not like to lose the possibility of being able to park on the street, whereas others point out that there's free parking in Wilmer Road Car Park, which is very near.

Cllr Carroll pointed out that Birr is one of the few towns in the midlands that has a free car park in it. He added that some are suggesting that the street be only pedestrianised during the weekends and that it remain open to traffic from Monday to Friday.