Traffic management and the effect on non-hospitality businesses are the areas Ennis can improve on for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2017.
A review is currently being put together on how the County town fared with hosting the popular traditional music festival. Clare County Council presented a report on the Fleadh at the September meeting of the Ennis Municipal District.
There was unanimous agreement that the event was a resounding success for the town and Co Clare. However the impact of businesses outside of the hospitality sector and traffic management have been flagged as areas that need to be improved when the Fleadh returns in 2017.
Director of Services with Clare County Council, Ger Dollard prepared the local authority’s report where he commented that an extensive traffic plan was prepared for the Fleadh. He felt that generally “traffic management worked exceptionally well”. Dollard flagged signage along with the routes and frequency of the park and ride systems as something to be analysed in closer detail.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy questioned some of the “unnecessary” traffic restrictions and expressed her view that a more lenient system should be in place for 2017.
Having received feedback from people in the town, Cllr Johnny Flynn said that the layout of events hindered businesses in the market area of Ennis. Traffic management was the biggest issue people experienced during the event according to the Fine Gael representative.