Concerns about speeding and traffic safety once again dominated the Loughrea Municipal District meeting on Monday, September 8.
Cllr Michael ‘Moegie’ Maher (FG ) raised the issue of traffic lights at West Bridge, saying: “We need to do something in this town to get people to slow down. It was raised in the June meeting, and we need to ensure that we protect lives.”
Options discussed included mini-roundabouts and traffic light changes. However, senior executive engineer Gerard Haugh stressed that enforcement is a matter for Gardaí: “The enforcement of speeding is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána and is not something that GCC will be getting involved in.”
Cllr Michael Regan (FF ) added, “When the traffic lights are off, there are no traffic jams at all. The option we should be looking at is a new roundabout.”
Pedestrian safety
In response to this, Haugh explained that while the proposed roundabout is a viable option, the presence of the lights in the town does not only serve cars in Loughrea, but also the town’s pedestrians.
“We have been looking at street view from 2009, before the lights were installed, and there is no question that when the lights are out, the cars move through that junction smoothly, but it isn’t about just the cars; it is about the safety of pedestrians.
Another viable option mentioned to help reduce the dangerous speeds that Loughrea sees daily was speed ramps, but the main impediment to installing speed ramps at the site, according to Haugh, is cost.
“The issue with everything is funding. We are looking at putting two speed ramps on Abbey St this year at a cost of €18,000.”**
Speeding
Cllr Declan Kelly (II ) argued for stronger measures to be introduced not only in the town of Loughrea, but across the electoral area.
“Whatever we do, it has to be a two-pronged approach – speed ramps and static speed cameras.
“I was not able to be at the June meeting because on my way here, I was overtaken by a car at Woodford in Portumna in a 50km zone by a car doing 100-120km. In the few minutes that it took me to catch up to the car at a junction, the car was on the roof, glass was everywhere, and the driver and the passenger had fled.
“No amount of speed ramps will stop an extremely careless individual like that.”
Agreeing with this sentiment, Cllr Jimmy McClearn (FG ) highlighted the continued issues with speeding in areas where such measures have been introduced.
“A number of years ago, a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money was spent on traffic calming measures in Kilreekill. Despite this, in recent years we have gotten a lot of emails from people in the area saying these systems are not working.
“One of the biggest issues I hear while out canvassing in my area is related to speed. There are at least two other locations in the town of Portumna alone that are dangerous due to speed. We need to do something before someone is killed.”
Correction to previous article: The quoted cost for the speed bumps is €18,000 combined.
