*Barriers blocking the entrance to Sixmilebridge train station. Photograph: Joe Buckley
SIXMILEBRIDGE’S TRAIN station will remain without a car park for the next three weeks, at least.
Large concrete barriers have been in place at the entrance to the train station since July 27th blocking access for vehicles. This followed the removal of an illegal encampment which had been at the car park of the train station for two years and five months.
When the barriers were installed two months ago, a spokesperson for Clare County Council said “the closure is expected to be in place for the next three to four weeks” and that it was to “facilitate construction works allowing for an alteration to the entrance point. The boulders are a safety measure during these works”. Eight weeks on from that statement, the barriers remain in place.
Pressure was put on the local authority by councillors this week to reopen the car park. Cllr John Crowe (FG) said of the barriers, “it was great to see it going up”. He continued, “The scouts are back now and there is a congestion of traffic in the evening, it is going down along the road and driveways are blocked”.
Crowe felt it was time to “remove the barriers at this stage, we’re getting an awful lot of hassle from people using the railway station that still can’t get in”. He asked Council officials to “just finish it off and get it up and running. There was cars everywhere the other evening collecting people, one man was trying to come out his gate and a car was parked across his gate, he was there for a couple of hours and wasn’t able to get out. Remove the barriers and keep our fingers crossed”.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Shannon Municipal District, Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) outlined that he was “inundated with calls from people on the opening of Sixmilebridge station. They are very bothered at the minute”.
Adding his voice to the accelerate the works was Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF). “The faster it can be opened to take the danger off the road and let people who want to use the train station park in the car park and not be parked in housing estates across the road, the better”.
Senior executive engineer in the Shannon Municipal District, Tom Mellett confirmed that a height restriction barrier has been installed at the car park to the Sixmilebridge train station. He said, “we are looking at a three week timeline for Sixmilebridge to complete the anciliary works”.
