Ballina frustration at lack of progress on roads

A local councillor has said he will call a public meeting to let commercial ratepayers have their say about traffic in Ballina after learning that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is not willing to send representatives to meet with municipal district councils.

Cllr John O’Hara sought an update at last week’s Ballina Municipal District meeting on a motion he had raised in December calling for a meeting between TII, Minister Dara Calleary, Senator Mark Duffy and other stakeholders regarding traffic in Ballina and the pressing need to progress the town bypass.

However, the head of the district Declan Turnbull said it was his understanding that TII does not meet with municipal district councils and instead meets with Mayo Co Council twice a year via the Roads Strategic Policy Committee.

Cllr O’Hara said this was not acceptable and said he will look to arrange a public meeting himself to discuss the ongoing concerns around heavy traffic in Ballina.

“We’ll have to get Minister Calleary and Senator Duffy and the businesspeople who are paying rates and tax into a public meeting if they don’t want to come,” he said. “The ratepayers in this town want to talk to tell their story and they’re not getting the chance and we as their representatives are not getting that chance either.”

Cllr O'Hara said there was a preference among ratepayers for the “eastern” bypass route, which starts near Hollister and ends on the Sligo Road, a 7.5km proposal that is still not a live project with TII. This is considered to be a more long-term project and will be prioritised following the completion of the “western” route, which will connect the Foxford Road to the Crossmolina Road and is expected to be completed by the end of 2029.

“We should prioritise the bypass over the river, that is what the people want,” added Cllr Marie-Therese Duffy, referring to the eastern bypass.

Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said there was a lack of information and communication given to councillors about major roads development projects and this needed to be addressed.

“This has been important for years and years and is getting more important which is why I have said we need to get our senior roads people in here,” he said. “If we want to get national roads projects advanced, we need our own roads team working on it and I don’t know if they are or they aren’t. We don’t know and that’s why we need to get them down here to talk about our priorities.

“TII talk to our roads office but we don’t talk to our roads people.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.