BusConnects public consultation ends on Thursday
A businessman in Mayfield says he has told his staff that he will have to close and move elsewhere if on-street parking is taken from the road in front of his business for the BusConnects plan.
Cormac O’Connor employs twenty one people at his café, restaurant and deli on Colmcille Avenue in Mayfield.
The NTA are proposing that two cycle lanes be installed on the road which will result in the loss of some on-street parking spaces.
Speaking to RedFM News, Cormac says the area is not suitable for the plan.
“My staff are worried. I’ve already said to them that if it goes ahead, I will close.
“It will be tough. I have three family members working here, I’d have to move out of the area completely.
“You have the chemist down the road, there’s a hairdressers, it’s very unfair to people.
“At the moment you can stop outside, if they take that away we haven’t a hope of surviving.”
The deadline for the second round of public consultation is on Thursday.
The NTA dropped the Sunday’s Well to Hollyhill section of the plan two months ago following opposition from locals, while there were also changes to plans for dedicated bus lanes and the need to reduce the amount of on-street parking.
Speaking to RedFM News, former Lord Mayor Cllr Joe Kavanagh says the NTA need to make further changes:
“I think BusConnects and the whole strategy behind BusConnects is fantastic, on the main arterial routes coming into the city, around the city, and exiting the city and so on.
“But when you go into residential areas and you start talking the language of removing on street parking for residents who need their cars, because there’s a clear message here and this is coming through loud and clear – cars are not going anywhere.”
