Green Party want 'linear park' in Limerick city

THE Green Party in Limerick says plans for the pedestrianisation of O’Connell Street are “not ambitious enough”.

Limerick City and County Council put on display plans for the transformation of the city’s main thoroughfare, with the project to cost in the region of €10m.

It is anticipated cars will be banned from the main thoroughfare between the junction with Roches Street down to the junction with William Street. The overall project will start from the Denmark Street junction

But the Green Party’s general election candidate James Gaffney is disappointed the local authority did not take into account his party’s submission for a linear park running alongside O’Connell Street between the junction with Mallow Street and William Street.

He said the park would “highlight the proud history of Limerick as well as underscore the bright future for the city”.

“Consideration could be given to naming the park after one of our great sporting heroes such as Anthony Foley, Pat Hartigan, Paul O’Connell or Andy Lee,” he said.

To tackle the parking issues which may arise, Mr Gaffney said Roches Street, Cecil Street and Glentworth Street could be reduced to one-way systems to allow diagonal parking.

“The existing restaurants and cafés along the street would be given the option of providing significant outdoor seating for their customers to attract people to spend time in the city centre in an environment where they can relax, enjoy a meal without sitting on a street with traffic passing,” he said.

“This proposal is a vision for a city where people will come and spend time in the city centre in preference to the out of town retail outlets which have devastated the city centre. We in the Limerick Green Party are committed to making the city centre in an ever more vibrant and pleasant place where people will want to live, work and spend their free time. This plan is very much a cornerstone of that vision for Limerick,” Mr Gaffney concluded.