Writes Leo McMahon
Traffic calming measures in Ballinhassig village were requested in motions from Cllrs Seamus McGrath (FF) and Una McCarthy (FG) at the monthly meeting of the county council’s Carrigaline Municipal District (MD).
Cllr McGrath requested a traffic calming scheme similar to that done for Ballygarvan while Cllr McCarthy asked the roads department to re-examine the pedestrian crossing and consider installing a raised one with ramps on either side to reduce the speed of traffic.
Senior executive engineer Madeleine Healy, in reply to Cllr McGrath, said she would discuss the matter with the council’s Roads Design Office (RDO).
Responding to Cllr McCarthy, she said the area was beyond the scope of a Transportation and Public Realm Enhancement Project (TRPEP) adding: ‘There is no available space within the existing road to provide such a link. The costs involved in land acquisition and accommodation works etc put this request beyond the scope of what can be considered within available resources’.
Cllr McGrath welcomed the traffic calming at Ballygarvan and referring to Ballinhassig, said that apart from the existing crossing and some signage, there was no traffic calming in a village which had extra traffic, including heavy goods vehicles, coming off the main N71 and from the junction at Fivemilebridge. She urged the RDO be asked to progress it.
Cllr McCarthy said she was contacted by residents of Ballinhassig who were very concerned about speeding through the village where many children cross to and from the GAA pitch and Marian Hall to the shop.
She was told that some drivers were not stopping at the pedestrian crossing, with some trucks exceeding the 50 kilometres per hour limit and witnessed this for herself during the Christmas period. In particular, some vehicles picked up speed coming downhill from the N71 entering the village.
Noting the response from the engineer, Cllr McCarthy asked that a raised crossing be considered.
Cllr Ben Dalton-O’Sullivan (Ind) supported both motions saying it was also brought to his attention by members of the Marian Hall committee and businesses. He expressed the hope that the people of Ballinhassig would not have to wait as long as the residents of Ballygarvan for traffic calming when referring to a report by Leo McMahon in The Southern Star in the 1980s about a meeting on the subject concerning the latter village.
An Cathaoirleach Cllr Audrey Buckley (FF), in support, said she too was contacted on the matter.
The engineer said she fully understood where the concerns came from. There were engineering issues as to how best address traffic calming and that was why she was engaging the RDO to come up with a workable scheme.
Ballygarvan ramp
Cllr Dalton-O’Sullivan had a motion requesting an additional anti-speed ramp near Ballygarvan GAA Club on the R613. ‘The installation of the two ramps close to the village centre on the western side and one on the eastern side is having a very positive effect’, he added.
The engineer replied that she would discuss the matter with the RDO.
There was also a motion from Cllr Dalton-O’Sullivan that Waterfall be the recipient of the 2024 Village Enhancement Scheme (VES). He was informed that this would be decided at an ‘in committee’ (private) meeting of the MD shortly.
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