The town centre of Ballina must be a people centric space, catering for the needs of its people, offering a dynamic and wide range of amenities and infrastructure that encourage people to spend more time in the area and for the town to be more attractive place to live.
Ballina has some of the highest levels of rainfall in the country yet we offer no permanent public sheltered space for the public.
We must consider permanently roofed streets and public spaces to enhance the shopping experience, encourage town centre living and amenity and to allow the facilitation of arts, musicians, buskers, and events being held regardless of inclement weather conditions. It should also cater for the country markets and similar local producers who would benefit from roofed areas.
Ballina must develop a skate board park to meet the significant demand in the community that are asking for one to be developed.
The creation of a playground for the Killala Road area of Ballina must be delivered in the lifetime of this plan to address the lack of amenity in an area of over 2000 people.
The redevelopment of the Ballina Military Quarters should include a water feature as a signature piece in the market square area.
The old Ballina Mineral Water Site must be redeveloped to include multi-story car parking which will free up town centre parking space. The old spring well on the site should be brought back into public use to allow sustainable water consumption for the towns public. This redevelopment should also include a town centre park on lands which are publicly owned by Mayo County Council and were formerly the back gardens of homes on Humbert and Pearse Street.
The creation of a railway park along the approach entrance into Ballina must be created to enhance the entrance to the town and include a safer walking route for pedestrians.
The creation of a Sensory Park in conjunction with Ballina Community Clean Up group is imperative to cater for members of our community who have sensory needs.
Continuation of Pearse St style and landscaping should continue onto all four main streets and onto the corner of Dillon Terrace.
A Walsh Street Cultural Quarter should be created to enable connection between the Jackie Clarke Collection and the Mary Robinson Centre using access through the old Garda Barracks. The old Garda Barracks should be redeveloped for public use in the form of a museum, library, hostel or art studios.