Dearey calls on council to address cycle lane issues in Dundalk

Part of the cycle lane on Chapel Street

Local councillor Mark Dearey has called on Louth County Council to address the issue of the cycle lanes in Chapel Street as soon as possible.

The cycle lane, which runs from The Century Bar in Roden Place as far as the CBS primary school has fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years with many of the barriers that separate the cycle lane from the road broken and damaged.

Mark Dearey

Cllr Dearey of the Green Party and Fine Gael’s Cllr Maria Doyle raised the matter at the meeting of the Dundalk Municipal District Committee this week after initially raising the subject last year in Dundalk Town Council.

Officials admitted that plans to change the traffic flow on the street had got lost in the changeover to Louth County Council last summer with Cllr Dearey urging them to look at it urgently.

He told LMFM: “The transition from Dundalk Town Council to Louth County Council has meant this issue has got dropped, and that was acknowledged by the officials, so I don’t think there’s any excuse for further delay to addressing the design issues around the cycle lane on Chapel Street.

“We were given a commitment that an alternative to the poles, which are a shambles at this stage, would be looked at and nothing has happened so I think the onus is now on the roads engineers to get on with it,” he said.

The cycle lanes around the town, including the one at Chapel Street, have been hugely controversial since being installed in recent years with few users and constant complaints from motorists and service workers.

Three quarters of the funding for the cycle lanes came from the Department of Transport’s Smarter Travel Programme but the general consensus around Dundalk is that it was a waste of money with numerous issues with the lanes since their installation including the reworking of the junction at the top of Chapel Street opposite The Century Bar and Home Bakery.

Indeed, Sinn Féin Cllr Edel Corrigan told the meeting earlier this week that she would oppose any local funds being spent on improvements to the cycle lanes in the wake of cutbacks to the roads programme.

The Home Bakery receives a special mention from food critic Paolo Tullio

The Home Bakery in Jocelyn Street

Dundalk’s famous Home Bakery received a smell mention from renowned food critic Paolo Tullio in his Irish Independent column last weekend.

The bakery in Jocelyn Street is run by the Keelan family and has become part and parcel of the fabric of Dundalk over the years with other branches opening in the likes of Church Street and Blackrock.

Tullio is regarded as one of the country’s foremost food critics but waxed lyrically about The Home Bakery in his weekend article called ‘Sweet Treats – Paolo Tullio’s top spots for pastry perfection.”

In the article, he said: “Northwards to Dundalk and you come to Keelan’s Home Bakery, which is on Jocelyn Street and has been serving Dundalk for more than 60 years. It’s a family business and it has a huge range of cakes, pies and breads – 65 different offerings – so choosing isn’t easy. If you want unusual fare, here’s the place to come for spelt bread, fruit braics and tarts, as well as pancakes, scones, soda farls, potato bread and sausage rolls too.

“Coffee and cakes may not be the nutritionist’s dream, but as an occasional treat it’s hard to beat. And now that there’s a good choice of artisan bakeries, I find I have a whole new interest in the sweet end of the gourmet’s fare.”

You can read the full article here.

The Century Bar 1917

 

Thanks to Larry O’Hagan for sharing this superb shot of The Century Bar, back in 1917. Very little has changed about the area in that time (apart from cycle lanes). You could even be forgiven for mistaking the neighbouring premises for Mullens and The Home Bakery.

Meanwhile, at the Home Bakery

 

The good folk at the Home Bakery in Jocelyn Street have taken to Facebook to announce that they are selling mint Aero cheesecakes.

All we can say is NOM, NOM, NOM, NOM, NOM…!