Facebook campaign against new Ballina traffic system

Facebook campaign against traffic system


A Facebook page re-naming Ballina as ‘gridlock capital of Ireland’ has been set up to campaign against the town’s new traffic system.
Ballina, Gridlock Capital of Ireland, the social networking site webpage, is serving as a platform for retailers, shoppers and drivers all voicing their views against the controversial system. The webpage also features photographs of the town’s main streets taken at prime shopping times with little or no shoppers visible – as drivers are experiencing difficulties accessing the town centre due to severe delays on outlying routes.
According to the site, one photograph – an image of O’Rahilly Street in the town, was taken at 2pm last Friday. Despite having being taken at lunch time Friday, formerly one of the busiest shopping periods of the week,  the photograph shows just a handful of pedestrians and swathes of open space which was, prior to the new layout, a demanding on-street parking facility. This has been posted as just one example of the difficulties retailers say they are facing as a direct result of the new traffic system.
One poster said she missed a job interview as a result of traffic delays, while another claimed she will be carrying out her shopping in Castlebar, as it is ‘less hassle’ after experiencing three difficult and time-consuming trips to the town last week.  The turning space at Hill Street – which has now become one way in the opposite direction – was also highlighted as a problem area. On Thursday last, a poster on the site stated a truck attempting to make the tight turn, ended up trapped and held up traffic in both directions for a considerable period of time. Similar experiences were also shared in relation to different areas throughout the town where drivers are attempting to get to grips with a series of new one-way routes.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ballina-Gridlock-Capital-of-Ireland/152880778084176?ref=search