A local businessman says his business has already been hit by a 70% drop in trade following the opening of the new Frenchpark bypass at the end of March, despite investing heavily in recent upgrades.
Muhammad Waseem, who has spent almost €600,000 developing his Daybreak filling station, deli and shop in the village, said the bypass design has significantly reduced passing traffic, particularly from trucks and early-morning builders.
He said the bypass from the Ballaghaderreen side does not link back to the old N5 into Frenchpark, effectively cutting off a roughly six-kilometre stretch of the old road to the village and reducing potential passing trade.
“Like in a lot of places, even in the UK, when they make a new bypass, they leave the old road…and they should just leave the old road as it is,” he said.
The effective closure of this stretch of the old road has also created inconvenience for locals, with some now forced to take longer routes home.
Mr Waseem also raised concerns about the design of the Sheepwalk junction, which he believes is not fit for purpose. The junction is one of two off the bypass into the village, the other being a more prominent exit via a roundabout.
While there is a filter lane on the Dublin side for the Sheepwalk junction, no such provision exists for traffic coming from Ballaghaderreen. “You have to move on to the hard shoulder to come off at this exit and it’s very narrow… this exit is too small for lorries, vans and the buses,” he said.
The main exit to Frenchpark village on the Dublin side.
He believes this poor layout is discouraging drivers from using the junction, which leads directly into the village, with many instead remaining on the bypass and accessing Frenchpark via a longer route at a roundabout. It’s a situation that again is affecting his business.
A lack of adequate signage is another major issue, he added, further limiting visibility for local businesses.
The combined impact has been severe. “We’ve lost about 70% trade from the trucks and builders in the morning,” he said, warning that pending bypasses in other towns on the N5 could have a similar effect.
“Other villages are going to be bypassed as well so the next stop for people will then be Longford.”
Mr Waseem has raised his concerns with local politicians but the married father-of-two continues to face an uncertain future as the bypass controversy rumbles on.
