Easter traffic volumes down by 90% on Athlone bypass
An analysis of traffic on the M6/N6 motorway in Athlone has shown how dramatically the lockdown changed daily life in Ireland, with traffic volumes down by over 90% on Easter Sunday when compared with a year earlier.
The analysis was carried out by Arcadia Retail Park, based on data from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
It found that, up to Friday last, traffic on the motorway in Athlone during the month of April had decreased by 79% when compared with the same month in 2019.
However the figures also showed there had been an increase in movement last week, with a 10% rise in vehicle movements from Monday to Friday in comparison with the previous week.
This analysis is based on TII data for traffic coming through a counter on the M6/N6 road between Junction 11 Athlone (Centre) and Junction 12, Athlone Bypass.
Easter Sunday last, April 12, had the lowest number of vehicle movements on record there, with just 3,677 vehicles passing during a 24-hour count which took in both directions.
In comparison, there were 41,886 vehicles using the road at the same location during Easter Sunday of 2019.
Arcadia Retail Park said it would be continuing to analyse the situation each week by posting vehicle movement reports on its Arcadia Athlone Facebook page.
“We think it will be interesting to track the vehicle movements over the coming months and watch for trends as the Covid-19 restrictions are changed and we all slowly get back to normal life," said Katie Gleeson, a marketing executive for Arcadia Retail Park.
Fiachra McLoughlin, director of the Retail Park, commented on the indications that people had been taking more journeys during the last week or so.
"That might be down to essential workers still working hard to keep everything going. But it also might be a sign that people are being less strict and that some boredom with being at home is beginning to creep in!” he said.
The retail sector has severely impacted by the current crisis, with B&Q Athlone, the anchor tenant at Arcadia, closed since March 28. At the time of writing, there was no news from B&Q about a possible re-opening.