What can be done to make Castlebar a better town?

witnessrenegade

Well I know they are putting in all that new paving around the main street and all but it does make the shop fronts look a bit naff, it also highlights the amount of empty stores we have in the town. What do you think the council could do to breath some life back into town?

donmeister

witnessrenegade wrote: »

Well I know they are putting in all that new paving around the main street and all but it does make the shop fronts look a bit naff, it also highlights the amount of empty stores we have in the town. What do you think the council could do to breath some life back into town?

Nuke the place, its time to start over! (And yes I lived here all my life )

Honestly I'm not too sure how to rejuvenate Castlebar, its been dying a slow death now for the past 2-3 years, what with the immigration of a good few of the young folk, the bland, monotonous nightlife, the non-stop roadworks going on, which seem to lead to more roadworks ?? coupled with crappy shops its a disaster.

I think it needs a new shopping centre near the middle of the town and a new superpub / niteclub. Maybe create a new fesitival in the summer?

Numb.Muzik

get rid of the tinkers

finisklin

Make the public officials more accountable and engage/involve the people of the town in having a say in how it is developed. I appreciate the latter may not be realistic as many people are just not interested.....Castlebar has potential, IMO it grew too quick too soon with an infrastructure that encourages people to get through it as quickly as possible.

Cosmo Kramer

I actually think Castlebar is a decent town facilities wise etc. for the size of it. You're only going to be able to do so much with a town of 10,000 to 15,000 people anyway, there are towns that size all over Ireland and Castlebar is probably one of the better ones.

I would just like to see something done with The Mall to make it more of a focal point in the town centre. Not many small/medium size towns have an area of open space like it right in the middle of town and it just seems to go to waste most of the time. If it could be developed with a few nice bars and shops in and out between all the existing public facilities it could become a real centrepiece that would set Castlebar apart from other towns around the country. Very difficult to achieve that in practice though of course.

irishgeo

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

I actually think Castlebar is a decent town facilities wise etc. for the size of it. You're only going to be able to do so much with a town of 10,000 to 15,000 people anyway, there are towns that size all over Ireland and Castlebar is probably one of the better ones.

I would just like to see something done with The Mall to make it more of a focal point in the town centre. Not many small/medium size towns have an area of open space like it right in the middle of town and it just seems to go to waste most of the time. If it could be developed with a few nice bars and shops in and out between all the existing public facilities it could become a real centrepiece that would set Castlebar apart from other towns around the country. Very difficult to achieve that in practice though of course.

get some live music into the pubs and get a pub to suit over 25's . rockys just doesnt cut it anymore. i think it needs a out of town shopping cntre out by the n5 somewhere, a decent niteclub as well along the lines of the castlecourt

epgc3fyqirnbsx

Put a roof on main street

RMDrive

Train the locals on how to stop criticising their town and to stop putting it down at every opportunity

Also, build a town park something like the one in ballina beside the river as you head out the sligo road.

Joe10000

Pedestrianise the main street.

yop

Joe10000 wrote: »

Pedestrianise the main street.

In 1. Make the flipping think somewhat, will be hard, like Galway mainstreet and do something with the Mall as its just a mass of green with a concrete lump in the middle of it.

The footpaths and the cobbled areas are nice, bound to help but cars up the middle still isn't going to help.

YouTookMyName

They've got rid of half the parking spaces on main street, Mental.

Reillyman

One of the main problems, which has being mentioned already, is the deterioration of the nightlife in Castlebar. I'm only 19 but since I started going to pubs etc at about 16, even I have noticed that it's getting worse.

A few ideas, some of which were mentioned already.

• Live Music. Even if it's just one man and a guitar(like yer man in Rocky's who's unreal).
• Cheaper Drink. Hardly anyone I know under 23 can afford to go to pubs anymore. I know Bosh and Castle Inn have brought in the €3 Tennents which is a step in the right direction, albeit long overdue. Also things like group deals, like 4 jagerbombs for €x or 4 pints for the price of 3 etc. This would encourage a lot more people to go to pubs.
• More Events. Afaik, the only festival type thing we have in Castlebar is the blue's festival, a few more of these types of things where nearly everyone can get involved would be good for the town. Last year some time the "World Fleadh" was in town, hardly anyone even knew about it, we need to advertise things more.
• Another Pub/Club. Ideally a nightclub such as the Castlecourt would be ideal but in reality with politics being what it is in this town that's not going to happen. What could work would be another late bar/superpub that will have some sort of crowd control, not like Cox's where half the time it's so packed you can't move. This establishment could have one end/floor for young people(<23:p) and the other for the rest, similar to the Castlecourt.

As well as the nightlife, the commerce of the town could be hugely improved by pedestrianising Main St. In my opinion this is what the council are working towards, this is the only explanation I can give to the ramps on it?!? I don't know why the council can't man-up and just do it. Imagine how cool Main St would be with benches etc in the middle of it, and coffee shops/bars with outdoor seating, much like Galway I suppose.

irishgeo

Reillyman wrote: »

One of the main problems, which has being mentioned already, is the deterioration of the nightlife in Castlebar. I'm only 19 but since I started going to pubs etc at about 16, even I have noticed that it's getting worse.

A few ideas, some of which were mentioned already.

• Live Music. Even if it's just one man and a guitar(like yer man in Rocky's who's unreal).
• Cheaper Drink. Hardly anyone I know under 23 can afford to go to pubs anymore. I know Bosh and Castle Inn have brought in the €3 Tennents which is a step in the right direction, albeit long overdue. Also things like group deals, like 4 jagerbombs for €x or 4 pints for the price of 3 etc. This would encourage a lot more people to go to pubs.
• More Events. Afaik, the only festival type thing we have in Castlebar is the blue's festival, a few more of these types of things where nearly everyone can get involved would be good for the town. Last year some time the "World Fleadh" was in town, hardly anyone even knew about it, we need to advertise things more.
• Another Pub/Club. Ideally a nightclub such as the Castlecourt would be ideal but in reality with politics being what it is in this town that's not going to happen. What could work would be another late bar/superpub that will have some sort of crowd control, not like Cox's where half the time it's so packed you can't move. This establishment could have one end/floor for young people(<23:p) and the other for the rest, similar to the Castlecourt.

As well as the nightlife, the commerce of the town could be hugely improved by pedestrianising Main St. In my opinion this is what the council are working towards, this is the only explanation I can give to the ramps on it?!? I don't know why the council can't man-up and just do it. Imagine how cool Main St would be with benches etc in the middle of it, and coffee shops/bars with outdoor seating, much like Galway I suppose.

promotions on alcohol are against the law so i cant see the group deal working out.

pedestrianising main st would be a huge improvement indeed.they would have to remove the barrier on the castle st car park entrance so trucks could use it but thats about it.

anyone heard anything else on the new superpub thats was supposed to go where Tflynns is , they were to knock 2 pubs into one , more than likely it wont happen .

its shocking the town is regularly filled with people heading to the TF therate and there is no place for them to head out after only the cattle shed that is coxs.

YouTookMyName

Funny bout the castlecourt is most of mayo love the castecourt, most of westport hate it.

Castlebar does needs a good nightclub though.

irishgeo

YouTookMyName wrote: »

Funny bout the castlecourt is most of mayo love the castecourt, most of westport hate it.

Castlebar does needs a good nightclub though.

true that.

Joe10000

irishgeo wrote: »

true that.

I second that. I think comparisons with Westport are unfair anyway cause Castlebar is a business town and Westport is a tourist town, the vibe is completely different.

In relation to venues I come back to the pedestrianisation of main street because once you have an area of the town where ppl want to spend time then the venues will follow. Temple bar is a good example of this although I am not for a second suggesting it as the blueprint.

irishgeo

Joe10000 wrote: »

I second that. I think comparisons with Westport are unfair anyway cause Castlebar is a business town and Westport is a tourist town, the vibe is completely different.

In relation to venues I come back to the pedestrianisation of main street because once you have an area of the town where ppl want to spend time then the venues will follow. Temple bar is a good example of this although I am not for a second suggesting it as the blueprint.

shop street in galway has loads of niteclubs around it.

Bob the Builder

YouTookMyName wrote: »

Funny bout the castlecourt is most of mayo love the castecourt, most of westport hate it.

Well said.

Curvepro

Sorry for sticking this in here but can some one give me directions to Milebush Soccer complex? Coming from Galway Direction, do I need to go through Castlebar?

statto25

Curvepro wrote: »

Sorry for sticking this in here but can some one give me directions to Milebush Soccer complex? Coming from Galway Direction, do I need to go through Castlebar?

Depends on which direction you are coming from. If you are coming from the Ballinrobe direction, Milebush Park is on right before you come into the town.
If you are coming from the Claremorris direction you need to go straight at the first roundabout coming into the town. You will pass Harvey Norman and take the left at the traffic light. The turn for Milebush is the next left after the train station

Curvepro

statto25 wrote: »

Depends on which direction you are coming from. If you are coming from the Ballinrobe direction, Milebush Park is on right before you come into the town.
If you are coming from the Claremorris direction you need to go straight at the first roundabout coming into the town. You will pass Harvey Norman and take the left at the traffic light. The turn for Milebush is the next left after the train station

Cheers! Many thanks

wandatowell

Outsiders perspective here.

I was in Castlebar for the first time last sunday and spent the night there, Have to say that I thought I was a very nice town and the locals seemed to be polite enough.

YouTookMyName

wandatowell wrote: »

Outsiders perspective here.

I was in Castlebar for the first time last sunday and spent the night there, Have to say that I thought I was a very nice town and the locals seemed to be polite enough.

Should have came to Westport mate.

dozydelilah

im from outside of castlebar, and im running out of things to stick up for castlebar about. what doesnt make it attractive is the day lightr robery that is pay and display parking. its put me going into town for things so im sure its put other people off!!! Many of us get out wages into the bank, so may not have money in our posket going to town, and hay presto weve got a parking ticket before we have got a shance to get money!!!!! There is a few buisnesses that would benifit from two or three spaces kept in rotation outside there shops, like argos, (try buying a hoover and carrying it back to your car while keeping your two children safe), or the cleaners, where people need to be able to run in and out! maybe a parking meter outside these places with 20min parking! give free parking to the rest of the town, and prosicute illegal parking. there should be a childrens park in all housing estates, a skate park for the teenagers. we have to make people proud of where they live, so get the relevent people to help with the projects, that way they,ll care about it. get the secondry schools to design a skate park, get the national schools to design play areas, even a baseball diomand, one place, a little hopscotch trail another place, anywhere there is lawn put a play thing in!! a little bowls place, like they have in spain, for the older people!!none of which would cost the earth if done properly.

roguey

dozydelilah wrote: »

..a skate park for the teenagers..

We're working on making that happening!

Thou

As a hub center for the region I would be of the opinion that the town did develop too quickly and as a result has suffered in recent years.

This is obvious for all to see in the demise of the town centre and its relocation to the hopkins rd area.

The last thing in IMO Castlebar needs is a new shopping center.

Sick of hearing people complaining about the town, it has bundles of potential a well of history to draw upon, a great infrastructure a multitude of facilities that other towns of similar size around the country could only wish for.
The improvment works are hopefully the beginning of a reinvigoration the town needs.

It would be great to see the main street become something of a retail center that reflects what the town and county has to offer in the way of its best local food products, local arts and crafts, to encourage established Mayo retail companies to set up shop in the county town. To become a center for brand Mayo so to speak the knock on effect for all involved would be great.

People speak of their being a malaise or status co in the way the political and commerce structures work in the town so such a vision as this may never materialise.

whadabouchasir

A few people have mentioned pedestrianising main st. If this was done though one of the main routes through the town would be cut off and it would make it much more diffficult to get from the north of the town to the south. One solution would be to build a proper road though Castle st car park as an alternative route for Min st traffic. If this was done and main st was pedestrianised then You could make Lucan St one way and get rid of the traffic lights at linnenhall st this would speed up traffic flow a huge amount as there often is traffic jams as far back as the top of tucker st and to super valu car park.

statto25

Maybe someone can clear this up for me. Are these new speed ramps on Main Street pedestrian crossings. They are the same level as the footpaths.

I ask because I was in Castlebar today and the amount of people that walked out in front of me while I was passing over the ramps was shocking. Maybe I didnt notice if there are any signs displayed?
If you are coming from Market Square up to the Main Street junction to go down Castle St, it is near impossible to pull far enough out to see if the way is clear from Main Street. My GF also noticed that if you had a visual disability and werent familiar with the layout, you would walk straight across the road.

talktalktalk

Castlebar people can make Castlebar a better place to live and to visit.
Castlebar people could take pride in what Castlebar has to offer rather than what Castlebar is missing. "The glass is half full". I recently recieved a brochure "Come & discover Castlebar Co. Mayo" advertising Westport house & ballintubber abbey & national museum. It was very informative however it did not publicize the local attractions in walking vicinity of the town.

What has Castlebar?

• The town Mall, over the last few years there has not be much activity around the Mall. In the past this was the focal point for people to socialize and play sports.
• The Town lakes, Lough Lannagh, Saleen. There has been some great improvement to the town lake recently with the regeneration works surrounding Barry's Castle at Lough Lannagh however a lot more can be done to improve these locations, for example: extending the walking area around the lake areas for people to enjoy recreation time out with family. The water quality is very poor. This should be addressed.
• The town river, Polluted in comparison to Westport Mall! Castlebar people should remove the shopping trolleys, paint the railings, improve the walkways from town to the town lake, and encourage people to walk from town to the lake for exercise.
• Sport Facilities, Castlebar is fortunate to have a great locations for sport a new tennis club, Castlebar Celtic grounds and the town Swimming Pool; however the swimming pool has to be redeveloped! The roof of the pool is a disgrace there is no children’s pool and the sauna is in disrepair.
• Walk ways , There are a number of great locations surrounding Castlebar that could be advertised better for the walking enthusiast out there, for example the four day walks avail of these locations every year why not have a walking map of locations near Castlebar.
• Youth Hostels, there are a number of hotels and hostels in Castlebar however Castlebar should look to encourage young Irish tourist to visit also. The return Castlebar receives from young visitors in future years is invaluable.
• Cycle Ways, There are a number of great location for cycle tours around Castlebar, The town has already started works to encourage cycling in town by road marking, this should be extended outside the town to the country roads to encourage cyclist to avail of castlebar as a cycling base and worth while destination for cycling around the West of Ireland.

To improve the town further.
In my opinion signage on Shop fronts should have some reference to the name of the town also, if only in small print in the corner of the business sign. Tourist pass by small town in Ireland every day of the week and most don’t recall what towns they visited! They are only focused on the final destination which in Castlebar's case is usually our neighbors in Westport.

The road network infrastructure encourages people to by-pass the town using the ring road which is usually congested.
If an alternative route through the town could be mapped this should be encouraged. Signage should be erected on the N4 showing the availability of parking signs this will encourage prospective shoppers into town.

A good tidy towns committee like Westport town committee is required to tackle the litter problems that have plagued this fine town for years.

On a positive note Castlebar is a great town, to reach its potential the towns people must continue to extend a warm welcome to visitors, discourage any antisocial behavior and promote and represent the town at every opportunity

Thanks for reading

seanie69r

rip up main street again. traffic never NEVER goes more than 20km an hour. why the need for 5+ fcuking speed ramps and every turn to take on main street?!?

on another nite, the council seem to be working at fcuking something in the town. not so long ago they had westport roundabout upturned yet to my amazement they have gone back latelt to retar it AGAIN. me thinks the council are taking the piss

Thou

talktalktalk wrote: »

Castlebar people can make Castlebar a better place to live and to visit.
Castlebar people could take pride in what Castlebar has to offer rather than what Castlebar is missing. "The glass is half full". I recently recieved a brochure "Come & discover Castlebar Co. Mayo" advertising Westport house & ballintubber abbey & national museum. It was very informative however it did not publicize the local attractions in walking vicinity of the town.

What has Castlebar?

• The town Mall, over the last few years there has not be much activity around the Mall. In the past this was the focal point for people to socialize and play sports.
• The Town lakes, Lough Lannagh, Saleen. There has been some great improvement to the town lake recently with the regeneration works surrounding Barry's Castle at Lough Lannagh however a lot more can be done to improve these locations, for example: extending the walking area around the lake areas for people to enjoy recreation time out with family. The water quality is very poor. This should be addressed.
• The town river, Polluted in comparison to Westport Mall! Castlebar people should remove the shopping trolleys, paint the railings, improve the walkways from town to the town lake, and encourage people to walk from town to the lake for exercise.
• Sport Facilities, Castlebar is fortunate to have a great locations for sport a new tennis club, Castlebar Celtic grounds and the town Swimming Pool; however the swimming pool has to be redeveloped! The roof of the pool is a disgrace there is no children’s pool and the sauna is in disrepair.
• Walk ways , There are a number of great locations surrounding Castlebar that could be advertised better for the walking enthusiast out there, for example the four day walks avail of these locations every year why not have a walking map of locations near Castlebar.
• Youth Hostels, there are a number of hotels and hostels in Castlebar however Castlebar should look to encourage young Irish tourist to visit also. The return Castlebar receives from young visitors in future years is invaluable.
• Cycle Ways, There are a number of great location for cycle tours around Castlebar, The town has already started works to encourage cycling in town by road marking, this should be extended outside the town to the country roads to encourage cyclist to avail of castlebar as a cycling base and worth while destination for cycling around the West of Ireland.

To improve the town further.
In my opinion signage on Shop fronts should have some reference to the name of the town also, if only in small print in the corner of the business sign. Tourist pass by small town in Ireland every day of the week and most don’t recall what towns they visited! They are only focused on the final destination which in Castlebar's case is usually our neighbors in Westport.

The road network infrastructure encourages people to by-pass the town using the ring road which is usually congested.
If an alternative route through the town could be mapped this should be encouraged. Signage should be erected on the N4 showing the availability of parking signs this will encourage prospective shoppers into town.

A good tidy towns committee like Westport town committee is required to tackle the litter problems that have plagued this fine town for years.

On a positive note Castlebar is a great town, to reach its potential the towns people must continue to extend a warm welcome to visitors, discourage any antisocial behavior and promote and represent the town at every opportunity

Thanks for reading

Good positive ideas and thoughts there.
However if I am not mistaken the castle ruin at lough lannagh is not deBarrys Castle.The town takes its name from the Barry castle site that was situated at the top of castle st on the site of the present army barracks.