BREAKING: Decision made on Christmas closure of Limerick bus lane

THERE will be no temporary closure of the O'Connell Street bus lane over the Christmas period, Mayor John Moran has confirmed.

It comes despite calls from businesses across the city to consider only having the lane operational during the morning and evening peak.

Off the back of this, and a motion from Cllrs Sarah Kiely and Daniel Butler, a public consultation was opened to get an idea of how the public felt about the measure.

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This closed on Wednesday lunchtime, and in a statement issued just before 5pm this Friday evening, Mayor Moran said there is an "absence of an overwhelming public appetite" to even do this as a pilot over the festive season.

In the survey, people were asked if they would like to see the bus lane opened to general traffic outside the hours of 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm - yes or no.

Some 1,097 people said they would be in favour of this. But 2,747 said they would not, the council has added in a statement.

Submissions were invited via email, and council said 43 people wrote in support of the measure and 106 voted against.

"Accordingly I cannot justify the pilot requested at this time," Mayor Moran confirmed.

"I wanted to make this decision quickly in the interests of certainty and to do so in time for consideration at the metropolitan meeting on Monday," he said.

He acknowledged the decision will not please everybody, saying: "I want therefore to clarify that I am very open, in early 2025, to receive additional evidence from those in favour of changes to the existing scheme and I will share that with the relevant agencies and give it full consideration myself to ensure we get the operation of this street right finally."

The mayor says he has not happy with the way Limerick's main thoroughfare is laid out, and plans to make changes down the line.

Local trader Owen Silke, part of the Limerick City Centre Traders Association, described the decision as "disgraceful".

"This time of year, we are all struggling to keep going and we need every bit of help. A temporary relief on the bus lane isn't an awful lot to ask. It’s not like we we were asking to close the bus lane completely," he said.