Thurles Information

Once again taxpayers money continues to be wasted by Tipperary County Council. The most recent wanton waste can be viewed at Bowes Corner, west of the town. (See image hereunder).

Note, Chinese granite stone has been laid around the ESB metal standard and a new Belisha Beacon pole; (no fault of the contractor), undertaken on the instructions of highly paid engineers and overpaid consultants.

It would appear that engineers and consultants have both failed to keep up to date on guidelines laid down by the National Transport Authority with regard to the basic principles governing universal access. (Note again the picture attached.) Universal access principles mean the avoidance of obstacles and impediments for people with disabilities; thus ensuring that adequate width and clearance is provided to enable them to have unimpeded access to pedestrian facilities. Imagine the confusion these obstacles, at Bowes Corner, will cause to a blind person using a guide dog, or a disabled person using a mobility power chair device.

the Chinese granite stonework will now have to be ripped up, the metal standard shifted and all financed by the stoically patient and long-suffering taxpayer.

Placing the cart before the horse.

Tipperary County Council and their officials within the Thurles Municipal district continue to “Place the cart before the horse.”

Recent developments within Thurles are now seen by local residents as superficial. Take the half developed upgrade to Liberty Square for example. Yes, it has the veneer of development. Certainly things look nicer around the town, but have failed totally to have a really deep and meaningful impact. Traffic congestion is worse. The nightmare, that is traffic, would have been substantially alleviated with a Ring Road/Bypass, and consumers would have been attracted to shop on our Liberty Square and other areas in our town centre, rather than, as it is now, avoiding Thurles altogether, because you can’t get through its increasing congested streets.

The removal of parking from the square and elsewhere, has not incentivized locals to pay for parking in car parks, instead they are heading to find the free parking readily available at Thurles Shopping Centre, Lidl and Aldi; choosing convenience and practicality over notions that are better suited to large city centre life.

The developments applied to Liberty square and surrounding streets are great in theory, but in practice ask yourself “Are they meeting the needs of a rural town, it’s business and consumers?”
A central square with spaces for pedestrians and eating outside is lovely, but in reality, seem more appropriate to Dublin City and places that have an efficient and well established public transport network. Pedestrianised streets; reduced parking, together with wooden picnic benches, latter for 8 weeks of the year, were never a priority for Thurles; the Thurles Ring Road/Bypass was; same now not expected to be included in any National Development Plan at least until 2030, if ever!
We may welcome the half provided, aesthetic improvements to Liberty square, but many of us would have waited for those, and taken a Ring Road/Bypass first.
Things have and are been done in totally the wrong order!

Unfortunately, the real people making decisions don’t walk the streets of Thurles town, nor appreciate what we need, to develop it, based on our unique rural needs; the Ring Road being a long standing local priority, and proving yet again that our two local resident politicians have absolutely no clout.