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The Island Of Geese came in for special praise in the report.
TRALEE achieved yet another Tidy Towns Gold Medal this year and it’s all thanks to the fantastic community effort and collaboration between a number of organisations,
Maintaining Gold Medal status over the last eleven years has been hard work and great credit is due to volunteers who increased the points total from 347 last year to 366 in 2023.
The judges were mightily impressed with the town too and that was evident in their report. It’s worth a read to see how highly they thought of many areas of Tralee.
Tralee marks breakdown in their Tidy Towns report.
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Community – Your Planning and Involvement
“Thank you also for Tralee’s 30+years participation in the SuperValu Tidy Towns Competition, the town has grown and changed admirably. Congratulations on the success of Tralee’s Heritage Trail project, it is a most impressive experience. A Tidy Towns group of 12 with support from 150+ volunteers is an admirable achievement in its own right!
The emphasis on social inclusion by involving those living in direct provision and members of the Ukrainian community in Tidy Towns activities is excellent.”
Streetscape & Public Places
“Tralee’s built environment is especially attractive at night with many of its handsome buildings within the core of the town floodlight and shopfront window displays brightly lit to allow window shopping all of which enhance the towns streetscapes; Benners and the Bank of Ireland were just two buildings admired at night together with the towns public spaces!
Numerous buildings and shop-fronts impressed during the day. Public buildings al looked well including the Garda Station, St Mary’s Church, the Aquadome and more.
The new public space ‘Island of Geese’ is a superb development and the Town Square is a delightful experience also.
Our Lady and St Brendan’s Church were also admired for the building and its grounds. Murals that delighted are in evidence throughout the town and the new one at the Wetlands and Eco Activity Park is both eye-catching and intriguing.
Maintenance projects are numerous and varied; Christmas Time in Tralee sounds wonderful! Congratulations on the opening of the new Gaelcholaiste, it’s an impressive feature of this part of the town.
Work accomplished on street and footpath cleaning within the town centre together with the maintenance of street furniture; is acknowledged; the Tourist Kiosk is both charming and of course helpful.
Stretches of high wall were noted in a few locations which are in need of refurbishment together with some buildings in back and side areas; it is good to note your contact with Kerry County Council on the issue of vacant / derelict premises.”
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Green Spaces and Landscaping
“The attractively landscaped green area located across from the Ballymullen roundabout is an appealing aspect at this entrance to the town centre; also admired was the green area with Age-Friendly seating and flower displays on the green area across from Our Lady and St Brendan’s’ Church.
Maturing trees along Bracker O’Regan Road are beautifully complemented by well managed grass verges; the industrial estate was admired for its management and presentation also.
The roadside boundary wall of Tralee Dynamos FC was quite weather-stained otherwise the presentation here was good too. Planters throughout the town were admired for the colour they bring to their surroundings; native tree hedge planting is favourably acknowledged; these will provide invaluable habits for wildlife as they mature; pollinator friendly planting of Spring bulbs is excellent.
Congratulations on retaining your International Green Flag status for both the Town Park and the Wetlands and Eco Activity Park. On-going maintenance work at Ballyseedy Woods and the Garden of Contemplation is favourably acknowledged. The renewal of braille signage at the Garden of the Senses enhances universal access.”
Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality
“The mowing regime along the Ballybunion road and at several locations throughout Tralee will be invaluable in enhancing the biodiversity status of the town.
The wildflower meadow at the new Island of Geese development is noteworthy, perhaps results of interventions for biodiversity at this site can be measured using the downloadable FIT (flower,insect,time count) app.
The Willow Tunnel at the Tralee Bay Wetland and Eco Activity Park is a wonderful initiative and a fun one for children also.
Awareness promoting activities such as the walking and talking project with school children by an ecologist along the Bracker O’Regan Road and the research project undertaken by students from MTU into awareness of and attitudes to biodiversity will be invaluable in promoting a greater understanding of nature and its significance to our lives.
The Community Biodiversity survey of the Greenway with an action plan together with recording results to the national Biodiversity Centre is laudable.
Do keep us up-dated on the monitoring of the Swift boxes at the island of Geese development and outcomes of your hosting of free ‘Walk and Talk’ events on the Birds of Tralee. Do please share the outcome of your trial use with the chemical free weed-killer!”
Sustainability – Doing more with less
Cycle lanes and bicycle stands are a common feature within Tralee which augers well for a reduction in air pollution; well done to the three MTU students for their research on car-pooling and of course to the school children and their teachers for their Green Flag status.
The Sustainable Living “Lunch and Learn” initiative is an invaluable life skill and fits in well with the secondary school project on growing their own tomatoes and of course the coffee grounds ‘Cup to Earth’ project!
Marram grass planting to stabilize the dunes is acknowledged, it sounds like a fun community event! Recycling activities are widespread ranging from the new haberdashery workshop for the JunkCouture exhibition to the design, by the primary school children, of a new recycling bin.
The new bin with the recycling section at the Island of Geese public space is noteworthy. The Civic Amenity facility at the industrial estate is excellent and is supportive of the recycling points around the town.
Tidiness and Litter Control
Litter control was very strong in Tralee for most of the time spent in the town; there was one significant exception however; early in the Sunday morning of adjudication a litter bin in the beautiful Island of Geese was being ravaged by crows and the resulting in the contents of the bin being strewn around this lovely public space!
Mid-week cleanups within the town centre are obviously maintaining Tralee litter free in addition to Sunday mornings on approach roads.
Participation in the Kerry County Council cleanup pays dividends also and we note the range of stakeholders involved in keeping Tralee litter free!
The young Picker Pals are doing a great job. The provision of litter rings for bags by the Tralee Chamber is favourably acknowledged together with participation in Beach clean-ups. Tralee Credit Union’s involvement in the dog-fouling initiative is appreciated.
Most streets are wirescape free in the core of the town however some cables have yet to be ducted. Some lengthy stretches of high grey walls need refurbishment of some sort in a number of locations.”
Residential Streets & Housing Areas
Urban Terrace residential located within the core of the town is an eye-catching development featuring attractive window details.
The entrance to the town centre from the Ballyheigue road feature nicely painted terraced dwellings in muted pastels. Roadside boundary walls to dwellings along Mitchell Street complement their well painted facades and grassed areas to boundary walls on the Ballybunion Road are a nice introduction to Tralee from this approach road.
Lios Ard estate was admired for its expanses of nicely managed green areas and maturing trees as was the An Dún estate.
The combination of stone and plaster on facades of many dwellings is an attractive feature. It is good to note the role of ‘mentoring’ by the Tidy Towns group to estate residents and the successful CE scheme in operation on flower beds and power washing of walkways and footpaths.
We wish you a successful outcome in your liaison with Kerry County Council on the problem of derelict premises.
Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes
Entering Tralee from approach roads is a delightful experience generated by beautifully landscaped roundabouts some for their flower displays, others for their sculpted hedgerow and sculpture and of course the water fountain roundabout all of which were complemented by good quality well maintained nameplates and direction signage.
The Dan Spring Road looks is attractively maintained with its mixed use ranging from residential to recreational amenity including playing fields, some commercial use and beautiful landscaping.
Congratulations once more on the completion and launching of the Tralee to Fenit Greenway and the installation of bicycle stands on Rock Street.
Other enhancements such as road markings, maintenance of walkways and roadside verges and restoration works by Tralee Municipal District are favourably acknowledged.
A big ‘Thank You’ is extended to members of the Ukrainian community for their input growing flowers from seed for the bed at the Welcome signs.
Concluding Remarks
Thank you for an excellent presentation, your adjudicator really enjoyed time spent in your lovely town over a period of four days and got to know you quite well!
Hopefully a return visit for recreation will be possible before the end the year. The scenic view of Tralee set against a backdrop of hills on entering the town from the Ballybunion approach road is a delightful experience.”
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