The elected members of the Castlebar Municipal District are waiting to hear the observations from locals and community groups in Breaffy on a report putting forward a number of options, before they decide on what steps to take next in their pursuit of the lowering of the speed limit in the village.
The report was put before the members at their February meeting, but while they didn't make any decision on what to do next, the councillors were united in their support for lowering the speed limit.
The report contained two options, the one that was recommended by the report saw the implementation of the national speed limit review plus a school-time periodic lower limit of 80kph speed limit from the eastern edge of Breaffy (L5783 ) to the 60kph limit proposed at the new N5 junction, along with other safety works. The second option was to urbanise the N60 from the junction of the N60/L5760 at Corrantavally to the N60/N5 junction, which would see a 60km per hour speed limit introduced for a distance of 2.7km.
Independent Cllr Michael Kilycone said: "I am disappointed in the report that it says the 80km per hour limit would cost about €1 million to implement, then €2.6 million to implement the 60km per hour.
"We cannot put a price on life, and whether it is €1 million or €21 million, you must make the road safe, so the communities that live there have a fair chance of going about their daily business without the risk of injury.
"To say also that reducing the speed to 60km per hour would add an extra minute to a journey, is not dealing with the people who are grieving and have grieved, when they walked behind the coffins of their children out of there, it is not the world we should be living in and the consultants should know in real life, whether you are a minute longer doing your journey should be an issue."
The councillor also pointed out that since the report was completed, Breaffy House Resort had been selected as the mass vaccination centre for the county of Mayo, saying: "That means that all of the people in county Mayo, 140,000 or 150,000 if they are coming from Castlebar or Westport or all that side, is gong to be driving out to Breaffy; they are going to be taking a right turn across a lane that is coming at high speed against them and when they come out again, they are going to be taking another turn into traffic, it has got even more urgent."
Cllr Blackie Gavin said that he didn't care what the cost was, he was going to be looking for the option of going for a 60km speed limit and 'whatever this council has to do they will not be happy as public representatives until the 60km speed limit is implemented for the village'.
Fine Gael Cllr Cyril Burke told the meeting: "I am extremely disappointed another report and nothing done, we have meetings with TII and they know the situation on the ground and they have changed the speed limits in places like Ballintubber, whatever it is about Breaffy we can never figure it out; you have the school, the hotel, the GAA, all these facilities in one location and we can't get a speed limit reduced, we have small towns across Ireland that don't have the same level of activity and yet they can get 60km and we can't. It's madness, it baffles me, what is going on here. We have done all we can at our level. We all want 60km, but we have to allow the community council and other groups to have their say."
Cllr Donna Sheridan added: "I agree with everyone else, but on a personal level my sister walks the path alongside the road from Lisgowl up to the village every day and it scared the life out of me to see the report showed that someone had driven through at 153km per hour.
"We have closed our whole economy to save lives throughout Covid and I look at this and can't fathom why we can't reduce the speed limit to save lives."
The chairperson of Breaffy Community Council (BCC ), Martin Reddington, had written to the councillors before the meeting, saying the BCC needed time to study the report, having only received it. In his letter he stated: "Over the past 18 months, Breaffy Community Council has been actively lobbying local Councillors to review the speed position in Breaffy, with their sole concern for the future safety of residents in the area.
"The members of the Breaffy Community Council have just received the report and have individually studied it but no worthwhile assessment of its recommendations have been undertaken as of yet. The report is a very comprehensive document stretching to 79 pages.
"BCC are unhappy with some aspects of the report and over the coming weeks and months will be seeking clarification on all of these concerns. When the BCC has all of the relevant information and clarification on these concerns, it is envisaged that they will comprehensively engage with all of the affected stakeholders and in particular, the residents of Breaffy, before any final decision is taken."
