Car Parking

Private vehicles are still the most favoured form of transport in Ireland (see NTA's National Household Travel Survey 2022) and this bias continues to grow in Ireland. Passenger car sales data from SIMI show total car registrations are increasing. The figures for the latest full-year sales shows a 26% increase in car registrations in 2024 compared to 10 years earlier in 2014, and a 3.59% increase compared to 5 years earlier in 2019. The most recent data for County Westmeath alone shows that new registrations in January 2025 were up 4.98% on January 2024 and new registrations for July 2025 are up 2.87% on July 2024.

Based on the continued growth in car sales Westmeath County should be facilitating the use of cars by providing improved infrastructure and parking facilities. The proposed Sports Complex requires the removal of a significant number of public car parking spaces from the existing (Fitzsimons Yard) carpark. The Traffic & Transport Assessment provided by ORS borders on falsehoods, data manipulation and inaccuracies all of which favour the proposed development. In Section 2.5 the Forecast Parking demand examines figures for what is referred to as AM peak and PM peak. AM Peak of 08:00 - 09:00 must surely incorporate peak traffic as opposed to peak parking as any eye witness, on any day of the week, could confirm parking demand in Blackhall does not peak until after 09:00. The Reallocation Strategy of placing surplus demand from Zone 4 to adjacent car parks, primarily Zone 5, would work between the falsely labelled AM Peak hours of 08:00 - 09:00 because parking is not at its peak during that hour. However parking dramatically increases in demand later in the day and such surplus would not be accommodated in adjacent car parks.

This reduction in car parking spaces will impact the number of visitors to the town centre on a daily basis and take from local trade hitting already struggling small businesses. Such an impact should be counter-balanced by the provision of at least one, but preferably two, multi-story carparks within the town centre, one located in the remaining parking spaces in Blackhall and another in the carpark opposite Cusack Park on Friars Mill Road.

Traffic Flow

Proposed changes to the Joe Dolan Road, which runs adjacent to the Sports Complex, will negatively impact traffic within the town centre of Mullingar. Since the introduction of a one way system through Mount Street, a route following Dominick Place and the Joe Dolan Road is now one of the main arteries for traffic leaving the town centre. The plans propose up to five pedestrian crossings ,access and egress to and from a small drop-off zone, access to a small carpark at the complex, and a service access road, all along the Joe Dolan Road. The addition of extra activity on the main carriageway will significantly slow traffic on this road and potentially back-up large volumes of vehicles as far back as Dominick Street and Oliver Plunkett Street. In the Traffic & Transport Assessment, section 4.2 Traffic Generation and Distribution observes traffic volumes but omits journey times. The additional obstacles along the Joe Dolan road will slow traffic speed and increase journey times via this corridor, resulting in backlogs during busy periods.

Section 3 Existing Traffic Conditions of the Traffic & Transport Assessment seems to make false claims about Blackhall Place having footpaths along both sides of the road for most of its length and that it is undergoing upgrades as part of active travel. The statement that "Dominick Place plays a vital distributor role at a micro-scale within Mullingar’s centre" is a weak claim considering Dominick Place is now one of the main routes for traffic to exit the town centre.

To accompany this development, further consideration for traffic management through the town centre needs urgent, considerable review and should be a priority for Westmeath County Council a with large financial investment behind suitably proposed solutions, whether that includes the building of another bridge across the Royal Canal, or the expansion of the road from Blackhall Place passing under the rail line to Newbrook Road in Clonmore Business Park. Basing plans on a fantastical future where it is envisioned that cyclists outnumber motorists is futile, particularly when the current trend in car sales is considered.

Active Travel

Mullingar town centre is not serviced by any Active Travel routes or cycle paths. In Section 3.2 Pedestrian and Cyclist Connectivity of the Traffic & Transport Assessment the statement that "the development is located close to a number of designated cycle corridors" is political spin at it's best. The closest cycle corridor is along the Royal Canal with the nearest access point opposite the Railway Station some 300m from the site of the proposed Sports Complex, which is actually acknowledged at a later stage in the report.

In Section 2.4.2 Internal Road Layout of the Traffic & Transport Assessment a claim that "an active travel corridor along Joe Dolan Road accommodates both pedestrian and cyclist movement, enhancing multimodal site accessibility and supporting sustainable transport objectives" is not accurate. A cycle path exists for a small section of the Joe Dolan road only in a northly direction. There is no active travel corridor for people travelling south on the Joe Dolan road. Similarly the footpath does follow the entire length of the road.

All proposals for future Active Travel infrastructure in the Mullingar area are focused on the outskirts of town and are failures by their design due to their lack of completion by omitting provision for active travel and cyclists within the town centre. The shared cycle/pedestrian path that will traverse the site from southeast to northwest will not promote active travel and will not facilitate connection to the wider Mullingar Cycle Network as claimed in the Architectural Design Statement. This shared path is isolated and not connected to any current or proposed cycle networks. The current proposal emphasises the lack of joined-up thinking by Westmeath County Council by actually omitting active travel and cycle paths in the new road layout design, particularly along the Joe Dolan Road. It is unreasonable to expect cyclists, especially young children, making their way to the proposed Sports Complex to compete with large vehicles for personal space and safety on shared, narrow town centre streets.

The proposed development is not serviced directly by either of the proposed Mullingar Town Bus Service routes. It should be expected that visitors, principally children, participating in activities at the Sports Complex will, in the majority, be dropped by private transport as opposed to making use of the proposed Active Travel or Bus Services. The plans state that the proposed drop-off zone will only accommodate buses, accessible users, and emergency vehicles. More space adjacent to the complex should be considered for public drop-off parking with a short grace period of free parking to allow for drop-off and collection.

The Traffic & Transport Assessment contains such a number of inaccuracies that it should be discarded when considering the impact of the proposed development.

Public Spaces

The large plaza at the main entrance to the complex is a welcome feature, however the proposed open space could be more welcoming with the addition of a greater number of public seating facilities, including tables and benches for outdoor recreation and dining. A play area for young visitors and outdoor exercise equipment should be considered as additions to the landscaped area, building on the sporting theme of the complex.

PART 8 PLANNING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF MULLINGAR REGIONAL SPORTS COMPLEX AT BLACKHALL PLACE, MULLINGAR, CO. WESTMEATH. - Submissions

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