Is this the future for Longford town's Main Street?

That's certainly what Fine Gael general election candidate Cllr Micheal Carrigy believes could provide the necessary impetus into ongoing regeneration plans being devised by local authority chiefs.

In an online post on his own Facebook page, the Ballinalee postmaster attached an artist's image of a fully pedestrianised Main Street from the Longford Arms Hotel to the town's Post Office.

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Cllr Carrigy said he devised the idea after the recent launch of the Camlin Quarter Plan by Junior Housing Minister Damien English.

“With online retailing growing every year we must guard our high street and redevelop it for the future, providing an environment that retailers can thrive in, provide social spaces to encourage community, provide spaces for county events, provide a space for night time socialising and develop a wider range of services that draw more people to the high street,” he said.

Cllr Carrigy said it was time he, together with other local politicians and key stakeholders begin to “think outside the box” when assessing Longford's retail and economic needs going forward.

The Fine Gael group leader said the prospect of pedestrianising part of one of Longford town's busiest throughways was in no way set in stone and was designed chiefly to stimulate debate locally.

“It's about creating an environment that will change the way the high street looks and make it more inviting so people will travel to Longford for a shopping experience which encourages more shoppers into the county town.”

The recent successes borne out by the Longford Summer Festival had only served to illustrate the many plusses associated with closing large swathes of Main Street off to traffic.

“It's about choosing afuture for our high street and for Longford to have that unique appeal and to not look like every other town in the country,” he added.