Changes to traffic plan for fishery expansion

Significant changes in traffic management are being considered in the country’s biggest whitefish port to ensure expansion of the industry in the coming years is not hampered by gridlock.

Cork County Council has appointed consultants to undertake a major traffic survey in Castletownbere.

Members of the West Cork Municipal District were yesterday told that AECOM transportation consultants had already commenced work on the project and were assessing traffic volumes at 13 junctions in the town during peak periods. Details of journeys taken by local people on a daily basis are also being analysed.

Peter O’Donoghue, a senior engineer in County Hall’s transportation department, said “significant changes” would be needed to Castletownbere’s traffic management to deal with existing major problems.

Eoin O’Mahony, representing AECOM, said the commercial fisheries generated a lot of HGV traffic. Problems were compounded by traffic generated by the retail and commercial life of the town, along with increasing tourist visits.

He said the council needed to identify “interventions” to improve traffic flow and ease pressure on parking in the Beara peninsula town.

Mr O’Mahony said road safety was also an important aspect and consultants will examine the town’s history of accidents to see what improvements can be made.

“All the information gained will feed into a baseline report which will aid us putting together a strategy for the town,” he said.

The first phase of public consultation will be held at the Beara Coast Hotel next Tuesday from 4pm-8pm.

Mr O’Mahony said meetings would also take place with gardaí, Bus Éireann, schools, representatives from the harbour members forum, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Marine.

He said a further round of public consultation will take place next April and May and the final report would be published a couple of months later.

“We very much need the community to engage with us,” he said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Murphy said new traffic management arrangements were long overdue.

He claimed Castletownbere was now “at a critical juncture” as it had doubled fish landings within the last five years and had overtaken Killybegs as the country’s largest fishing port.

“We have to delineate port activities from other activities in the town. We also need to look at a relief road around the town,” said Mr Murphy.

Fianna Fáil councillor Christopher O’Sullivan said the town generates a serious amount of traffic and the junction at SuperValu was a real bottleneck.

“It also has lovely winding streets so we need to be careful to keep its charm,” he said.

Independent councillor Danny Collins said he hoped the new plans would not result in the loss of parking spaces, which could hinder the businesses community in Castletownbere.

Independent Declan Hurley, chairman of the municipal district, said Castletownbere had been a victim of its own success and added it was vital the community had an input into the traffic management project.