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THE Mall is to be a pedestrianised area during the day after Councillors voted in favour of traffic calming measures on a trial basis.
The area from the junction of Russell Street an Bridge Street down through The Mall will be accessible to pedestrians only from 10.30am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday.
Traffic will be allowed before 10.30am and after 6pm. The trial basis will be reviewed by the Council on September 1, 2018.
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The eight Tralee councillors present at the special meeting this afternoon voted in favour of adopting the proposal (Cllr Jim Finucane was not present on account of the death of his mother).
Traffic is already prohibited on The Mall due to the ongoing work which is due to be finished in two weeks, so the current pedestrianisation system will remain in place from now on.
The original plan was for the newly revamped Mall area to be a shared space for pedestrians and motorists, but the Council decided to review the situation and put the pedestrianisation proposal out for public consultation.
A number of submissions for and against the proposal were received. Some businesses in the area like Hugh Culloty’s, Der O’Sullivan’s and John Fitzgerald were against the proposal while Peter Harty of CH Chemists said it should be adopted on a 12 month trial basis.
In a questionnaire issued to businesses by Tralee Chamber Alliance, 52 were in favour of the proposal in full with 32 against. Of the 32 against, 15 were agreeable to partial pedestrianisation, for example, on weekends only or weekdays only.
