Re-think the Road!

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04b785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Councillor Keith Martin </B></FONT><B>     |    </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Councillor Keith Martin "><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U><I><B><U>Back to news page</U></B></I></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="1deb5780.jpg" border=0 width="181" height="120" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Re-think the Road!</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="1e29c460.jpg" border=0 width="668" height="326" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Plan </div> <bR> <div> A member of the “Stop This Road” committee has urged the people of Westport to contact the councillors of the town and ask them to abandon the plan to build a roadway over and adjacent to the Railway Line Walk. Labour Councillor Keith Martin says he has “grave reservations” over the council’s proposal to build the bridge and road, as he feels it will compromise the integrity of the walk. </div> <bR> <div> Cllr Martin says he is also concerned that over 150 submissions concerning the road were ignored by the council when it was conducting its public consultation about the bridge in 2001. Cllr Martin adds “You can’t have public consultation and then ignore 150 submissions from the public.”</div> <bR> <div> A complaint about these ignored submissions was investigated and upheld by the Ombudsman but was not resolved until after a majority of the previous council voted in favour of the project. </div> <bR> <div> According to the Labour councillor, the council should have re-examined the issue in the light of this complaint. Cllr Martin says “It is a very serious issue and I think it compromises the integrity of the council’s decision to proceed with the road and bridge and leaves the road project open to a legal challenge.”</div> <bR> <div> Cllr Martin points out that traffic and pedestrians on this road will be visible and audible from the Railway Line Walk and that the 8-metre-wide roadway will pass over the walk, through a wetlands and run side by side with the walk all the way to the Quarry Road near the Quay School.</div> <bR> <div> Cllr Martin says “there has been a lot of talk from Management and Councillors about this road joining up the Quay to the town. This is misleading. The Railway Line Walk and Quay Road already link the town centre and the Quay. This new road is being built solely to allow the Cloonmonad area to be developed.”</div> <bR> <div> Cllr Martin says there are alternatives to the council’s plan and is urging a re-think of the project, pointing out that “the Webb Report and the Civic Trust have made some very reasonable and workable suggestions which would facilitate development of the Cloonmonad area without impacting on the Railway Line Walk and this is what we should be discussing as a council now.”</div> <bR> <div> Cllr Martin says he also wants to highlight the fact that “this road is not the work of the officials; it is the work of the elected councillors who in September 2001 voted 8-1 to proceed with this project (Cllr Martin Keane was the dissenting voice). It is not too late for councillors to call a halt to this road and I am urging them all to do so. I would ask that each and every citizen of this town contact the councillors and urge them to hold a special meeting to deal with this issue. There can be no hiding behind the Town Manager or the excuse of “executive functions” on this one. The decision to build this road was made by the councillors and only they can stop it.”</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>