Road labelled a ‘death trap’
A road adjacent to a school on the outskirts of Cavan Town has been labelled a “death trap” by one councillor, with another describing the speed at which traffic travelled on the N55 at Corlurgan as “frightening”.
Road Safety concerns at the Kilnaleck Road junction on the Cavan-Ballinagh Road on the N55 were discussed at the recent Belturbet/Cavan Municipal District meeting.
Cllr Áine Smith said parents of children attending Corlurgan National School are worried. They describe the Ballinagh Road as dangerous with heavy traffic coming from Cavan Town.
Fianna Fáil’s Patricia Walsh said she raised the same motion previously and was told that it would be passed on to the Road Design department of Cavan County Council for consideration.
Supporting the motion, Cllr John Paul Feely said the speed at which traffic travels on that road is “frightening”, adding that there had been an accident on the road, but thankfully it hadn’t been fatal.
He said that, when it came to issues being raised, the Road Design department shouldn’t be a black hole and asked for more proactive engagement with councillors from members of the team.
Cllr Walsh agreed, asking for more feedback and answers from the Road Design department on road safety and other issues.
Fine Gael’s Peter McVitty also supported the motion, labelling the area a “death trap”; while Cllr Brendan Fay said there was often a wait of 10-15 minutes to get out onto the junction.
In response to this, senior executive engineer Paul Mulligan said he had previously worked in the Road Design department and the work done there is not always appreciated, with hundreds of items referred to them.
“It was my clear view that there would be no ad hoc review of the road safety issues.”
Mr Mulligan went on to say that the concerns take time to address as they have to be done properly and there is no “quick fix” to the issue given obstacles such as funding, land availability, and feasibility to be overcome. He suggested people manage their expectations.
Cllr Walsh responded by asking that councillors be sent a response on issues raised to communicate revert to their constituents as it was felt that elected reps weren’t doing their jobs.