The traffic lights at the Crescent junction are adequate for the flow of traffic going through them and do not need to be adjusted, according to Athlone’s town engineer Alan Kelly.
In spite of calls at last week’s Athlone Area Committee meeting for the sequence of lights to be changed, Mr Kelly assured councillors that the current system is necessary in order to keep traffic moving smoothly.
“The main focus at the moment is to keep traffic flowing at all times from the Ballymahon Road and we don’t want to compromise this. If we added a green arrow it would have capacity implications for the junction,” said Mr Kelly, who emphasised that there is already sufficient time allowed for traffic to turn right.
The discussion arose when Cllr John Dolan requested that the council either change the sequence of lights or add a traffic light with a green arrow, in order to allow traffic coming in the N55 towards town to turn right safely at the Crescent junction.
“I have experienced it myself - people are chancing it. The delay is not long enough and people are afraid to turn right. We are coming into the Christmas shopping season and a lot of people will be coming in who are unfamiliar with the town, and will be turning in towards the shopping centre.”
Cllr Joe Whelan added that in his experience the junction ws not safe, while Cllr Tom Allen said that people are waiting too long to turn right as they are afraid to move.
However Cllr Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran argued that people were “going to have to get it into their heads that Athlone is an expanding town”. “The Crescent junction is just like any other in Dublin or anywhere else. We can’t justify putting in more lights and signals. I hear what you’re saying but there have been no accidents there to justify doing anything with the lights,” he said, to which Cllr Dolan countered “Surely the aim is to try and prevent accidents?”
Cllr Frankie Keena, however, pointed out that traffic is already building up out the Ballymahon Road, a situation which must not be worsened.
