Coalisland gives its verdict on completed public realm scheme

Pictures by Micky Cullen

Coalisland’s completed public realm scheme received a mostly positive response, when WeAreTyrone visited the new-look town last week.

The town centre has been transformed with new pavements, lights, landscaping, street furniture, planting and drainage. The work also included the demolition of a wall that ran along Main Street and a derelict building which has been replaced by a grassed area with small trees, allowing direct access to the library at the Cornmill and the Lineside with its shops, offices and Newell Store just before the idyllic canal walk.

The Main Street has a new one-way system as well as extra car parking spaces. It was noticeable on Tuesday afternoon, despite the large amount of vehicles parked in the town, that there were plenty of vacant parking spaces at the Cornmill.

The completion of the project costing £4.27m was officially marked last week with a visit to the town from Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey.

The Department for Communities provided £3.72m towards the scheme with Mid Ulster District Council contributing a further £553,000.

Minister Hargey also announced a further investment of £274,000 by her Department to deliver a revitalisation scheme for Coalisland to support the town centre, including the delivery of a scheme at Lineside that will improve connectivity and accessibility to the town centre.

pedestrian-friendly

Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Paul McLean commented, “The recently completed multi-million pound public realm scheme in Coalisland has created a safe, high quality and pedestrian-friendly environment while also greatly improving traffic flow and parking around the town.”

He revealed that there are plans now to improve the Canal towpath which links many different areas to the town centre.

The reaction among the business community, shoppers, pedestrians and motorists has for the most part been very positive. However amid the glowing praise, some have also expressed concern that the new shiny pavements can get slippy while the traffic can still be choc-a-bloc on Main Street at rush hour and proving very difficult and time-consuming to move through the roundabout with so many vehicles from the Lineside now having right-of-way.

However they all spoke in glowing terms of how the town centre now looks, the ample spacing and fresh ambiance.

What do Coalislanders have to say? 

“It’s a great job! There is still a lot of traffic in the evening time but I don’t think there is any way around that. I’m sure when the town was originally designed, they didn’t have that volume of traffic in mind! Very different times. At times there is a lot of traffic goes through the town but it is the route that connects a lot of people to work and schools and places so it will have a lot going through to Barrack Street and into Main Street. It is a lot brighter and nicer. It is especially noticeable now with the evenings  getting longer and the sunnier weather. I really like it and I hope it is mentioned often and appreciated.”

Yvonne McGrath a volunteer in a town centre charity shop.

“It is a major project but seems to have come in seamlessly with no big fuss. Stopping now to reflect on it, the new look is very pretty, the plants and grass really adds to the town centre with the old building now gone. The only thing I would like to see is a crossing on the Main Street for pedestrians as it can be very busy with traffic. It can be hard to get across with a pram or buggy or if a person was in a wheelchair. We contacted the council but they said there is not enough traffic to justify a crossing but if one person can’t get across, that is one person too many. Other than that, it is grand and is very handy to go from Main Street to the Lineside which it wasn’t before.”

Mary Rafferty, local resident.

“I have only been living here about 12 months so I don’t really know what it was like. Certainly it is very accessible pushing the buggy down towards the Lineside to the local stores and there is plenty of room. Occasionally cars park on the footpath which can be awkward but to be fair there are plenty of car spaces and it doesn’t happen too often. It is a nice clean town centre. I have no complaints!”

Christine Devenny is a local mother.

“I forgot myself once and did the 10 yards the wrong way and had to reverse back! I am used to it now. A few still do it but it is slow traffic and they soon realise. It’s just we were so used to going around that way for so long. The town centre is so much cleaner and will be especially appreciated in the summer. It looks really well with the flowers. I often walk around the town to the Church Corner and back down the Lineside and it is a very pleasant walk. I notice a lot more people are taking in the town centre now as part of their walk or run. It has more of a community feeling and it does look really attractive.”

Martin Skeffington from nearby Clonoe.

“The change is very refreshing. There is an access to the Main Street from Barrack Street that some motorists occasionally go the wrong way. I have seen young people using the public area at the Cornmill in a positive way which is a good thing and it is all very out in the open now. It’s lovely the way the Main Street is opened into the Cornmill area. It feels like one town now whereas before the town centre seemed segregated in two. Last summer we sat out during lunch breaks and it was lovely. My only concern is the pavement can be slippy. Already I know of two people who have fallen, which is a worry.”

Colleen O’Neill works in a chemist in the town.