Mayor of Castlebar and Fine Gael Town Councillor, Ger Deere, has expressed serious concern that a further road traffic collision has taken place on the Newport Road. The most recent collision on Friday evening last involved three cars in the same location as a number of previous accidents in recent weeks. Safety signage and some other temporary measures have been put in place but road traffic collisions are still occurring at the dangerous location on the Newport Road beside the junction for the Cemetery entrance.
"A total of €75,000 was allocated some weeks ago to perform the required improvement works. Local residents are genuinely afraid to leave their own houses as the risk toward pedestrians and drivers is demonstrated by the number of accidents in recent weeks. Mayo County Council is playing Russian Roulette with people's lives and this situation must be acted upon immediately. The temporary measures are obviously not working and cannot be relied upon. The funding is already in place and improvement works should commence immediately as a matter of urgency. "
According to Labour general election candidate Dr Jerry Cowley the chances of a Mayo person being involved in a serious collision at the location are extremely high.
“It’s a miracle no one has been killed so far, but this cannot last,” Dr Cowley said. “I was passing the area in question myself last Friday afternoon and while I escaped being involved, I met a patient of mine and his family at the accident scene who were not so lucky. Thankfully there were no fatalities in the three car accident.
“The action needed is very simple and may be lifesaving. I demand that this road be immediately reduced to one lane while surface works take place. We cannot wait for someone to be killed before action is finally taken.”
