Pedestrians and cyclists are facing an “unacceptable risk” due to the absence of a footpath or hard shoulder along the N53 at Newtownbalregan, a Dundalk councillor has warned.
Cllr Sean Kelly brought a motion before the September meeting of Dundalk Municipal District, calling for Louth County Council to write to the National Transport Authority (NTA) calling for an on-site meeting to assess the need for a public footpath along the N53, from the M1 Junction 17 interchange to the cul-de-sac at Newtownbalregan.
He told the meeting this area was the source of “serious and on-going safety concerns for local residents” for many years.
“People are walking and cycling along a busy national road that is getting busier every day,” said Cllr. Kelly.
“The absence of a safe pedestrian route forces people to walk along a busy national road, creating an unacceptable risk for residents, including children, older people and those accessing nearby homes and amenities,” said Cllr. Kelly.
He said a meeting with the NTA at the site would “allow the issues to be addressed firsthand and help progress a practical solution to improve public safety along this busy stretch of road.”
“It’s a major safety concern for residents. We should not wait for a serious accident before we take decisive action.”
In response, David Hanratty, Operations and Environmental Delivery said the area is along the N53 and therefore falls under the remit of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
He said the council had previously inquired about the removal of roadside hedging and ESB poles to the rear of this location.
“But the TII estimated the cost to be excessive and would not fund the hard shoulder provision as requested.”
He added that the Road Safety engineer will contact the TII again to highlight this location and raise the concerns expressed by Cllr. Kelly.
“This will be with a view to assessing what funding and appropriate safety interventions are possible at this location.”
Cllr. Kelly added: “I don’t think because one solution was deemed too expensive that we should stop looking for a solution altogether.”
He said an on-site meeting would allow a number of options to be explored, including traffic-calming in the area, or the removal of obstacles.
The concerns were echoed by other members, as Cllr Ciarán Fisher described the stretch of road as posing “serious safety concerns”, while Cllr John Reilly said the need to relocate ESB poles was a significant factor in the overall cost of any scheme.
He suggested that if safety improvements could be delivered without moving the poles, the project could become considerably more feasible from a funding perspective.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme