City street to be remodelled at cost of €250,000
Waterford’s Hanover Street was revamped in 1999 and paved with cobbles to coincide with the opening of the city’s Museum of Treasures. The area in question runs down by the Granary and links The Quay to O’Connell Street.
But because of accessibility problems and difficulties encountered by elderly people and those with disabilities, it is planned that some of the cobbles will now be removed and part of the area re-paved.
Fine Gael city councillor, Tom Cunningham, said they objected to the cobbles ever before they were put down. “The cobbles are a serious impediment to pedestrian traffic. While I welcome this correction, and an expensive correction it is, I am not happy with the plan that now exists for the area.
“What is proposed is to re-pave 130 square metres of paving according to the scale dimension of the plan. About 40% of the area is being retained in the original cobble finish.”
He says most people are forced onto a narrow strip of granite at the moment to avoid the cobbles. “Why don’t they keep the cobbles by the sides of the building and leave the rest of the area flat. Why not leave the pedestrian-friendly paving in the centre,” he said.
City councillor, Seamus Ryan, hopes that the city council might be in a position to pay for the works from a source outside of its limited roads budget.
“We are making this area accessible for people. €250,000 is a lot of money to be coming out of our roads fund and I would hope we might get something centrally for making this area more accessible to the disabled,” he said at the City Council meeting on Monday.
But City Manager, Conn Murray, told the meeting the money would be coming out of the council’s budget. “There will be no central funding for this project. It will be city council resources of some kind. Should the council decide to proceed with the works, it will be done with a mixture of roads funding and development levies.”
Plans for the area are to go on public view at City Hall.
