Limerick Footbridge Not A Priority But Welcome

Issued : Monday 3 October, 2016

People in Limerick City East welcome the idea of the proposed Limerick Footbridge, although the majority believe it is not a priority.

Labour Party Councillor Elena Secas has carried out a survey over a one-month period asking residents across Limerick City East for their views on the proposed Limerick Footbridge.

Cllr. Secas carried out the survey among 200 residents at Castletroy, Monaleen, Annacotty, Castleconnell, Childers Road, Ballysimon Road and St. Patrick’s Road locations and found that 57% of respondents welcome the idea of the Limerick Footbridge, in general, while only 20% think the footbridge would be a priority for the city. The survey asked respondents if they believe the footbridge is a priority for the city, if they support the idea of the footbridge, in general, and if they welcome the decision to have a full public consultation process on it. 70% of the people surveyed do not think the Footbridge is a priority, 20% believe it is a priority, while 10% either did not have an opinion on that or answered ‘maybe’.

Some 57% said they would support the idea of the Footbridge, in general, while 32% were completely against such project and 11% either did not comment on that or answered ‘maybe’. 20% of the people who are against the Footbridge idea said that it would be a complete ‘waste of money’ and that money ‘could be used somewhere else’. On the other hand, 20% of respondents who would support the project stated that it would ‘open up’ and would ‘enhance the city centre’ and 17 % said it would definitely bring in more tourism, with the rest of respondents having mixed feelings about it.

The majority of all respondents, some 80%, strongly support the decision that a full public consultation process will take place on the Limerick Footbridge proposal, 10% are against such consultation and another 10% either did not have an opinion on that or answered ‘maybe’.

Cllr. Secas says that some people were not aware of the fact that a benefactor was involved and once they learnt that, they changed their mind and said, if that was the case, then they would support the footbridge proposal.

“I believe the Council would need to adopt a new strategic approach in relation to any future development proposals and have a more collaborative, open and transparent approach which will inform discussion, will drive public engagement and will offer people a broader view of what is being proposed and what is involved. Such an approach can only be effective and will benefit any future projects in my view”, Cllr. Elena Secas added.