Local Fine Gael Councillor, John Dolan, has called upon Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII ) and the Gardaí to eradicate speeding through Ballinahown village following an accident at the entrance to the local playground.
"On Sunday last a car coming from the Doon direction unfortunately failed to make it around the corner heading for Athlone on the N62 and crashed into the entrance to the playground. Thankfully no one in the car was injured, and luckily no children were exiting the playground at the time or they certainly would have been a serious injury or a fatality.
"This is certainly not the first time that we have seen a vehicle fail to round the corner and crash into either the wall or the gate at the entrance to this wonderful amenity in Ballinahown.
"I have requested TII personally on numerous occasions to put a ramp or traffic lights at the pedestrian crossing in an effort to slow down traffic coming through Ballinahown. I broached this issue at a meeting with TII last year and they informed me that they do not erect traffic lights or ramps on a national road. However, I informed them that this was not true as there are lights in Glasson and ramps in numerous villages on national routes.
"As well as safety measures in Ballinahown, there also needs to be better enforcement of the speed limits by the authorities in the village. Traffic coming from both directions is routinely going too fast and it is often unsafe to use the crossing that is present.
"Will it take a tragedy to finally have the traffic dangers in Ballinahown assessed or can these issues be dealt with quickly? We all understand that accidents can happen, but we have a duty to make Ballinahown as safe as possible for everyone," Cllr Dolan asserted.
Ballinahown Drive-Thru Trick or Treat
Meanwhile, the Ballinahown Development committee are hosting a ‘Drive Thru Trick or Treat’ in Ballinahown village car park on Saturday evening, from from 6pm to 7pm.
"Lorraine Farrell, who owns the local crèche/playschool, 'Stepping Stones', who originated the idea, has kindly offered to sponsor the goodie bags for the event.
"The committee felt it was a great idea, as children unfortunately cannot go from door to door in the normal way because of the Covid-19 restrictions. The idea is that parents can drive carefully through the carpark and volunteers will give them their goodie bags without them leaving the car at a safe distance.
"There will be volunteers directing the traffic in and out of the car park to allow for the cars to enter and exit in a safe manner. While it won’t be the normal Halloween experience, at least the local children can say that they enjoyed their 'Trick or Treating' experience in 2020!’ Cllr Dolan concluded.
