Pedestrian lighting at People’s Park inches forward despite further delays
People's Park. Photo: Joe Evans
Plans to develop LED pedestrian lights in People’s Park have progressed following a successful public consultation process, though concerns have been raised that further planning reports will stymy the project.
Waterford City & County Council plan introduce 42 LED columns that will cover the perimeter of People’s Park “to facilitate the safe movement of pedestrians through the park at low light levels.”
Additional columns that would cover paths from the perimeter to the central fountain will be considered prior to construction.
Further development is now subject to an Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment, an Arboricultural Impact Assessment and an updated Lighting Development.
While welcoming the signs of progress, metropolitan councillors bemoaned the slow development of a project they say has become mired in bureaucratic red tape.
Labour councillor and Mayor of Waterford City and County Council Seamus Ryan criticised the multitude of reports required to advance the project: “How long are [the reports] going to take before we can get the work commenced?
“I remember raising this five or six years ago as well…Now these reports are being requested. They should have been requested five years ago.
“We provided for the funding for this in our budget a number of years ago, but now we're finding out that these reports have to be carried out first. I think we're putting the cart before the horse here, and this project is now going to be delayed even further.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Jason Murphy said while the advancements in development were "great to see" he highlighted that €100,000 had been allocated to the project in 2019.
The council's planning department told councillors that pricing for the project had now ballooned to upwards of €250,000.
The planning department said the delays ultimately stemmed from the nuances of Ireland’s planning system which ultimately serve legitimate concerns.
Questions on what exact time the proposed lights in People’s Park will turn off or begin to dim will be answered by the updated lighting report.
