Ballina business 'suffering due to traffic congestion'

Businesses on either side of the River Moy in Ballina are losing customers due to constant traffic congestion.

The matter was raised at last week's meeting of the local municipal district by Fine Gael Cllr John O'Hara who claimed that people are staying "on their own side of town as much as possible in order to avoid traffic delays" around the bridges over the River Moy. Cllr O'Hara called on Mayo County Council to tackle the traffic congestion that "is interfering with business in the town".

“This is coming up all year. The business people on each side of Ballina have lost business to the other side because people won’t cross town anymore. The Ardnaree side has seen business all stopped from people travelling from Crossmolina and Knockmore. I see it myself. There are people even going to Swinford to shop because crossing the bridges in Ballina, you would be there three hours.” 

Cllr O’Hara said land had been sterilised for the last three years in order to build a new bridge across the Moy but nothing had happened. He called on the council management to persuade Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to make progress on the proposed bridge.

"All the land is sterilised there right across from Hollister to the Sligo Road, so why can’t we get that back on the radar? The orbital route there is sterilised and nobody can build or sell a site on it. Also at the golf links, land is sterilised. 

"There is no way Ballina is going to exist without another bridge. People coming in from Crossmolina now can’t come in to Ballina to do their business as it’s an hour to get into town and another hour to get around it.” 

Cllr Michael Loftus said he totally agreed with his colleague. 

"As someone coming in from Crossmolina, I would hesitate to go to some business on the far side of the bridge because I’d have to go by the Sligo Road or via Ardnaree and the delays there take a long time. Last week I was driving into Ballina [from Foxford] and ended up in a queue as far back at Connolly Motors and it took me 45 minutes to get into the funeral home. 

"Imagine a stranger coming into town facing into this. They would say it is crazy.” 

Cllr Loftus added that councillors were given a presentation recently on when the new Crossmolina bypass would be put in place.

"It will be 2030 before they even get started on the Crossmolina section. That is five years’ time. There is just so much to be done.” 

Cllr Annie May Reape said it was sending out the wrong message telling people not to travel into Ballina town. 

“We should be encouraging people to come to Ballina. I heard a traffic message on the radio last week and they were also telling people not to come to Ballina with the result that the town was quiet even though everyone was open for business.” 

Cllr Reape agreed that until the orbital route is up and running, the traffic situation would remain problematic.

The council's municipal district engineer Orla Bourke said the orbital route constituted major infrastructure that would take time to develop, adding it is “up to us to keep pressure on TII”.

However, she pointed out that the focus should also be on the Ballina Local Transport Plan, which “is more imminent" and will "reduce congestion by providing more quality active travel”, whereby fewer people will travel by car into Ballina. 

“It is envisaged that the car-dominated environment will abate with the introduction of meaningful active travel infrastructure," Ms Bourke remarked.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said a new orbital route was critical for Ballina but he did not know what the council’s priorities are in relation to regional and national roads. He called on council management to have the item on the agenda at an upcoming round table discussion for councillors from Ballina Municipal District.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.