OPINION: Thurles has great potential, but traffic issues hold it back

There has been welcomed investment in our town in recent years with the upgrading works completed on Liberty Square, opening of the town park and the redevelopment of Liberty Square.

It is also important to acknowledge the works ongoing by Thurles Lions Club with significant housing projects, most recently with the significant upgrading of the Stannix Homes.

It is great to see the large pink planters recently installed in Liberty Square. They add lovely colour to the town. It is also wonderful to see shop owners with pots outside the doors and fresh signage, as this also contributes to making Thurles a place where people want to shop.

The outdoor seating, which restaurants and coffee shops are providing is also a welcome addition. I also welcome the €9,500 awarded under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme to carry out maintenance and cleaning on the 1798 monument on Liberty Square, it is badly needed, and I look forward to seeing this beautiful piece restored to its former glory.

I also note that €11.4 million has been allocated to Thurles for works within the district, such as road resurfacing, street cleaning, Christmas lighting and tourism promotion.

As a member of Thurles Tidy Towns, we are always looking to carry out works to keep our town looking its best. We recently carried out a cleanup on the Railway Field, with over 30 bags of rubbish collected. We have ordered two bins for either side of the Railway field bridge, and they will be installed in the next number of weeks.

We are currently working on the possibility of installing nature boards along the river walk and hope to have more updates on this in the coming weeks.

I have to say that the River Suir was in awful condition last summer, and I will be making renewed calls to the local authority to have it cleaned ahead of the summer. I also feel that our local authority need to play a more proactive role in dealing with derelict sites in our town, especially landmark buildings in prominent locations.

However, I do feel the biggest issue we have in Thurles is traffic congestion. My first example of this is Parnell Street which I believe should be one way or no parking at all on the street.

I know this is controversial, but I strongly feel that action is required on this street. We all know that a few parked cars make it impossible for traffic to flow freely on the street and because the street is simply too narrow to serve such a high volume of HGVs daily.

The issue of trucks mounting the kerbs is also a danger to pedestrians especially young children making their way to school.
I don’t think for a moment that interventions in relation to Parnell Street would solve all our traffic issues, but it would be a major starting point.

The long-term solution is that a bypass would alleviate the need for large trucks to pass through our town but in my mind a bypass for Thurles is many years down the line unfortunately.

Similarly, we have heard many announcements about a relief road from Clongour to the Mill Road. This would also play a role in reducing traffic congestion in our town. I would be grateful if our two Thurles TDs and councillors could answer the following questions in relation to this project:

1. Has all the necessary land been acquired for this project?
2. Is all the funding in place for this project?
3. Is there a projected timeline on when this road should be in use?

I am also frustrated at the works carried out at Bowe’s corner.

With the works now completed, we have all seen how HGV’s and buses cannot navigate some of the turns without crossing the white line. Before this project commenced it was announced that €500,000 was allocated for the works to help make the junction more pedestrian friendly.

It has however, made it very difficult for the motorist, and I hope it doesn’t result in an accident in the future.

I have also been notified by the local authority that a pedestrian crossing will be installed near Aldi on Kickham Street.

I welcome this news as this is a very busy area, and requires a safe crossing for pedestrians many of whom are children and senior citizens.

I have also asked that consideration be given to a pedestrian crossing being installed at Mace shop, Loughtagalla. I feel a speed indication sign should be installed on this road just past Thurles Rugby Club as a mechanism to slow cars down entering the town. This is a busy junction and is used a lot by pedestrians.

I also cannot understand why street lighting has not been continued on the Holycross road out to Dew Valley. This is the towns biggest employer, and many workers in thefactory walk that route daily.

We should all be proud to live in a town with such a rich history, and we should all be working together to ensure Thurles remains a great place to live, work and visit.