Writes Leo McMahon
‘I don’t feel safe leaving my garden,’ said 85 years old resident Frances Murphy, who along with next door neighbour Geraldine Anderson residing near the bend on Kilmoney Road, Carrigaline, have witnessed several accidents and damage to their property in recent years.
Their concerns and demand for action were highlighted at the recent meeting of the county council’s Carrigaline Municipal District (MD) in a motion from Cllr Michael Paul Murtagh (FG) who requested traffic calming at the sweeping bend which he described as an accident black spot.
He suggested an extension of the footpath on the R611 opposite the entrance to Clevedon to the front of dwellings. One vehicle rounded the bend from the Kinsale direction almost dropped into a front garden after demolishing a garage and smashing a wall, gates and pillars.
Seconding, Cllr Seamus McGrath (FF) said he also had contact with a home owner by email. There was a history of accidents at the bend and he suggested the flashing 50kph speed warning sign, which is rotated for use in the MD, be returned to Kilmoney Road and a crash barrier erected.
Cllr Jack White (FG) agreed, adding that the significant drop-off between the road and houses was quite scary should a vehicle go off the road. An cathaoirleach Cllr Ben Dalton-O’Sullivan (Ind) concurred, adding it was on an already much used walking route near the recently opened relief road which all councillors had spoken positively about.
In a report, senior engineer Alan Cogan said a list of Low Cost Safety Schemes was currently being prepared in an application for funding in 2023.
‘The sweeping bend has been included in this list and we await determination on funding application’. Councillor Murtagh and colleagues welcomed his response.
Speaking to The Carrigdhoun Newspaper, Frances Murphy, a resident of Kilmoney Road for 61 years, said there had been numerous accidents and the most recent was in September,
‘Two years ago, a car crashed into my garage, tore the front door down, came out and was hanging off the wall. I am after getting awful shocks.’
Geraldine Anderson (nee Harrington), confirmed that damage was again done to her wall and railing plus a mirror for viewing oncoming traffic on September 10th but thankfully no one was injured. Last year her pillar was knocked and the driver left the scene and there was also damage to her neighbour’s pillar.
‘The volume of traffic on this road has increased 100% with new houses in the area. The corner remains the same and with the volume and speed of traffic it's inevitable that a fatal accident will occur. The new bypass will just increase the number of vehicles.’
Ironically, a few years ago, when an engineer called in response to their request for what became a short section of footpath below their property on their side to facilitate crossing over to the continuous pavement outside Clevedon, he had to run to cross the busy main road and actually fell on reaching the other side, she stated.
Surely the safety of residents is a priority, said Geraldine and Frances who called for a crash barrier and a footpath to protect their properties along with speed warning signs and other traffic calming measures - perhaps rumble strips - leading to the corner. There was also need to trim trees, some of which block public lighting and cause icy conditions.
At the MD meeting, the engineer agreed with Cllr McGrath’s call for directional signposting (e.g. Kinsale, Ballygarvan, Cork) on Pottery and Mills Roads (new Carrigaline Western Relief route) for the benefit of non-locals and said he had spoken to the design team.
Cllr McGrath again called on the ESB to activate the lights for the new pedestrian crossing at Upper Kilmoney Road because there were safety concerns. An additional sign to alert drivers on the bend coming from Foster’s Cross was also needed. Cllr Dalton-O’Sullivan and White concurred.