1. Would you like to see more trees and planting? Yes, trees are great, but they need to be of a type/size that does not block sightlines especially if they are in containers. In the view of some of our members one of the large square containers on Hyde Bridge opposite the Glasshouse does impede pedestrian sightlines.

2. Would you like to see more cafés, bars and restaurants using the street for outdoor seating? Yes, as long as it does not impede the movement of pedestrians especially people with buggies or mobility aids. Outdoor tables and seating need to be in a wholly pedestrianised area or taken from car-parking spaces. Water Lane might be a good location for a bike café. Outdoor areas outside pubs can be an issue. When pubs are operating normally people sometimes move out to smoke and sometimes bring drinks out with them which can cause issues with spills and broken glass. Rockwood Parade and Stephen St car-park may have enough space to cope. We wish the landmark pub, Thomas Connolly every success but we feel numbers outdoors on Holborn St may need to be monitored so that they don’t cause an obstruction..

3. Do pedestrian crossings need to be improved and should footpaths be wider? Yes, some footpaths are very narrow. The pedestrian crossing close to Bank of Ireland and the Library/Stephen Street car-park needs to be more prominent/wider. This is a busy area and will continue to be busy after the car-park becomes the Cultural Plaza. If crossings are green-man controlled it is important to

Minimise pedestrian wait time
Allow adequate time to cross. It is a common sight to see elderly pedestrians scurrying across a pedestrian crossing for fear of being hit by a car.

4. Do you think the street lighting needs to be better? Yes, good lighting adds to a feeling of security. Better lighting is needed on Stephen St, Holborn St and Rockwood Parade. We understand that all public lighting in Sligo is being converted to be more ecological and less wasteful of energy.

5. Do you think there should be more bicycle parking? Yes, it is needed

at/beside the library.
Retain/replace at least two separate bike rack locations on Rockwood Parade and also in the Cultural Plaza area
There should be one in Tobergal lane ( along the gable end of Strollers)

Some bike-parking needs to be designed for non-standard bikes, eg adult tricycle, child trailer,

Given that Sligo is an important destination on the Euro Velo 1 Atlantic Corridor route, consideration needs to be given to the provision of bicycle lockers so that people can lock away their belongings while they explore the town or have a meal and also bike cages where a bike can be securely stored.

Apart from bike parking, consideration should be given to a bike charging station for e-bikes which are becoming very popular both for daily use and touring.

A bike repair station would also be useful. One has been installed at the Riverside in conjunction with the Eurovelo route signage. It might be thought that it is not necessary in town because there are bicycle shops but, in the evenings, and on Sundays these will be closed.

6. Do you feel the streets would benefit from traffic calming measures? Very much so, particularly as the streets are too narrow for segregated bike lanes therefore shared spaces with appropriate signage is important. However, the quality and material of ramps used in traffic calming in Sligo varies hugely. In a new urban realm scenario, raised table crossings and narrower roads because of wider footpaths may be sufficient.

7. Do you agree that Rockwood Parade should be designed mainly for pedestrians? Yes, this area needs to be a pedestrian priority zone. Some vehicular traffic has to be permitted due to the presence of commercial and residential buildings. Cycling also should be permitted as at present. This is for two reasons.

1. encourage active travel and modal shift

2. Due to the one-way system the detour people cycling would have to take to access the East Ward/Pearse Road area would bring them into conflict with three and then two each lanes of traffic.

Shared use can be regulated with appropriate signage and shared space measures so that both cyclists and pedestrians realise they need to share the space with each other, and each accommodate people with mobility aids or prams/buggies.

8. Do you think there should be more seating and gathering opportunities in the area? Yes! Some seating needs to be public so that it is not necessary to spend money in a café in order to have a rest or chat. Seating with attractive sheltering/covers would be excellent.

9. Is there a need for more interpretation features / cultural references on the streets? It is difficult to see how these would not lead to street clutter unless they were placed on walls in the form of plaques or murals. The Pollexfen mural at the top of Wine St is a good example of a visually arresting and informative cultural reference that is not intrusive. Many people use smart phone apps to learn about an area so perhaps this could be considered. Dublin for e.g. has an app where people on a walking tour can stop at various statues and listen to the statue tell its story. http://www.talkingstatuesdublin.ie/about.php

10. In general, what do you think of our designs? The designs look excellent on the whole. One thing we would like to have seen is provision for contra flow cycling on Stephen St. This should be possible when the street is traffic-calmed and would be much safer for people on bikes traveling to the hospital or the IT than sending them around Markievicz Road and Connaughton Road where they encounter three and then two lanes of traffic.

The next set of designs and the planning documents need to incorporate bike parking, disabled parking and zebra crossings.

8AAABVwtN+AAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAFiS0dEAIgFHUgAAAAMY21QUEpDbXAwNzEyAAAAB09tt6UAAAAKSURBVBjTY2AAAAACAAGYY2zXAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC

1. Would you like to see more trees and planting? Yes, trees are great, but they need to be of a type/size that does not block sightlines especially if they are in containers. In the view of some of our members one of the large square containers on Hyde Bridge opposite the Glasshouse does impede pedestrian sightlines.

2. Would you like to see more cafés, bars and restaurants using the street for outdoor seating? Yes, as long as it does not impede the movement of pedestrians especially people with buggies or mobility aids. Outdoor tables and seating need to be in a wholly pedestrianised area or taken from car-parking spaces. Water Lane might be a good location for a bike café. Outdoor areas outside pubs can be an issue. When pubs are operating normally people sometimes move out to smoke and sometimes bring drinks out with them which can cause issues with spills and broken glass. Rockwood Parade and Stephen St car-park may have enough space to cope. We wish the landmark pub, Thomas Connolly every success but we feel numbers outdoors on Holborn St may need to be monitored so that they don’t cause an obstruction..

3. Do pedestrian crossings need to be improved and should footpaths be wider? Yes, some footpaths are very narrow. The pedestrian crossing close to Bank of Ireland and the Library/Stephen Street car-park needs to be more prominent/wider. This is a busy area and will continue to be busy after the car-park becomes the Cultural Plaza. If crossings are green-man controlled it is important to
• Minimise pedestrian wait time
• Allow adequate time to cross. It is a common sight to see elderly pedestrians scurrying across a pedestrian crossing for fear of being hit by a car.

4. Do you think the street lighting needs to be better? Yes, good lighting adds to a feeling of security. Better lighting is needed on Stephen St, Holborn St and Rockwood Parade. We understand that all public lighting in Sligo is being converted to be more ecological and less wasteful of energy.

5. Do you think there should be more bicycle parking? Yes, it is needed
•   at/beside the library.
•   Retain/replace at least two separate bike rack locations on Rockwood Parade and also in the Cultural Plaza area
•   There should be one in Tobergal lane ( along the gable end of Strollers)
Some bike-parking needs to be designed for non-standard bikes, eg adult tricycle, child trailer,
Given that Sligo is an important destination on the Euro Velo 1 Atlantic Corridor route, consideration needs to be given to the provision of bicycle lockers so that people can lock away their belongings while they explore the town or have a meal and also bike cages where a bike can be securely stored.
Apart from bike parking, consideration should be given to a bike charging station for e-bikes which are becoming very popular both for daily use and touring.
A bike repair station would also be useful. One has been installed at the Riverside in conjunction with the Eurovelo route signage. It might be thought that it is not necessary in town because there are bicycle shops but, in the evenings, and on Sundays these will be closed.

6. Do you feel the streets would benefit from traffic calming measures? Very much so, particularly as the streets are too narrow for segregated bike lanes therefore shared spaces with appropriate signage is important. However, the quality and material of ramps used in traffic calming in Sligo varies hugely. In a new urban realm scenario, raised table crossings and narrower roads because of wider footpaths may be sufficient.

7. Do you agree that Rockwood Parade should be designed mainly for pedestrians? Yes, this area needs to be a pedestrian priority zone. Some vehicular traffic has to be permitted due to the presence of commercial and residential buildings. Cycling also should be permitted as at present. This is for two reasons.
1. encourage active travel and modal shift
2. Due to the one-way system the detour people cycling would have to take to access the East Ward/Pearse Road area would bring them into conflict with three and then two each lanes of traffic.
Shared use can be regulated with appropriate signage and shared space measures so that both cyclists and pedestrians realise they need to share the space with each other, and each accommodate people with mobility aids or prams/buggies.

8. Do you think there should be more seating and gathering opportunities in the area? Yes! Some seating needs to be public so that it is not necessary to spend money in a café in order to have a rest or chat. Seating with attractive sheltering/covers would be excellent.

9. Is there a need for more interpretation features / cultural references on the streets? It is difficult to see how these would not lead to street clutter unless they were placed on walls in the form of plaques or murals. The Pollexfen mural at the top of Wine St is a good example of a visually arresting and informative cultural reference that is not intrusive. Many people use smart phone apps to learn about an area so perhaps this could be considered. Dublin for e.g. has an app where people on a walking tour can stop at various statues and listen to the statue tell its story. http://www.talkingstatuesdublin.ie/about.php

10. In general, what do you think of our designs? The designs look excellent on the whole. One thing we would like to have seen is provision for contra flow cycling on Stephen St. This should be possible when the street is traffic-calmed and would be much safer for people on bikes traveling to the hospital or the IT than sending them around Markievicz Road and Connaughton Road where they encounter three and then two lanes of traffic.
The next set of designs and the planning documents need to incorporate bike parking, disabled parking and zebra crossings.