Radical proposal to remove part of Elliott Road footpath for buses

A radical proposal to remove a section of footpath in Athlone to provide parking for tourist buses was put before the October meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District.

The proposal came from Fianna Fail Cllr, Aengus O'Rourke, who was praised by Director of Services, Ambrose Clarke for “thinking outside the box” and for coming to the council with “not just a problem but a proposed solution”.

Cllr O'Rourke submitted a draft drawing to the council for a revised road layout for parked buses along Elliott Road, which would involve the removal of the footpath along the Army Barracks wall. He said this would allow for buses to “fully pull in off the road” and park safely and allow for two-way traffic to flow along Elliott Road.

“We are back to the old chestnut of the buses having nowhere to park in Athlone,” said Cllr O'Rourke who added that he had given his draft drawings to the council's engineers and they “didn't dismiss them outright”.

The motion was strongly supported by Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, who said he was “sick and tired” of seeing cars doubled parked in the area of Elliott Road during funerals. “We need to lead from the front here, and the reality is that if buses can't find anywhere to park in Athlone then they will go somewhere else.”

He also appealed to the council to install “drop kerbs as a matter of urgency” in order to make it easier for passengers to alight safely from buses.

Cllr John Dolan agreed with the sentiments expressed by Cllr Moran and said he had only recently met a bus driver who told him that bus tours were no longer coming to Athlone as there is “nowhere to park” in the town. “If it's too hard to find parking then they won't come, it's as simple as that,” he added.

While he was largely supportive of Cllr O'Rourke's initiative in submitted a hand-drawn sketch outlining his proposals to improve the parking situation for buses, Director of Services Ambrose Clarke said he would be “concerned” about the safety implications for pedestrians if footpaths were to be removed.

Cllr O'Rourke pointed out that a low cost safety scheme is due to be put in place at Ss Peter and Paul's Church and he suggested that perhaps his proposal could be implemented in tandem with those works “instead of ploughing up the same place twice”.

District Manager, Willie Ryan, said the council's engineers would draw up plans “and we can take it from there”, he added.

The council's written response to the motion from Cllr O'Rourke noted the submission of the draft drawings, and said the proposal “will be investigated and the provision of parking as outlined will be considered subject to detailed design and finding a suitable funding source to progress the proposals”.