Dundalk councillors oppose zebra crossing at Inner Relief roundabout

Councillors at the Dundalk Municipal District April meeting, voiced their objections to plans for a new zebra crossing at the roundabout at the junction of the Avenue Road and the Inner Relief Road in Dundalk, to replace the broken pedestrian lights, and have called on Louth County Council to provide a safer solution for pedestrians.

Cllr Marianne Butler raised the matter at the April meeting, saying that she reported the broken pedestrian lights to the local authority on 28 January, and asked when are they going to be fixed. Cllr Butler said that there are very few safe crossings on the Inner Relief Road and that the lights need "to be fixed now" and that "two months is too long to be waiting".

Replying to Cllr Butler, Senior Engineer, Mr Mark Johnston, said that the lights have "pretty much had it" and they would not be repairing them as they were beyond repair. Mr Johnston said that they intend to remove the lights and install a zebra crossing.

Cllr Butler said that the particular roundabout is a very wide one and that motorists exit it at speed, and that she thought the zebra crossing would not be enough, adding that there should be traffic calming measures along with a zebra crossing, or something else that would slow traffic down, to make it safer for pedestrians.

Mr Johnston came back to say that it would only be a temporary measure, as the Active Travel plans for the area would entail the removal of the roundabout completely and the installation of a "proper controlled crossing", that would include cycle lanes.

He went on to say that the zebra crossings would include belisha beacons, that would be removed when the Active Travel measures are installed. Replying to Cllr Butler's query on when the temporary measures would happen, Mr Johnston said it would be done "very soon", with plans for it to be done in the "next couple of months". He added that the lights would be highly visible and that they "can't put traffic calming on that main road, they way it is".

Cllr Robert Nash commented that he met Director of Service, Mr David Jones, on the matter, and that he has reservations on plans for the zebra crossing at the roundabout, and that if motorists don't see a red light there, they drive straight through it. He also asked if installing a zebra crossing would mean the removal of the traffic wardens that operate at the roundabout.

Cllr Nash said that he has asked Louth County Council for more traffic wardens at busy junctions like this, for the safety of school children who are trying to cross them when schools are closing.

Agreeing with the two councillors on their concerns for the crossing, Cllr Kevin Meenan said he would be reluctant to let a child cross the road at that junction as there is too much heavy traffic using it.

Cllr Liam Reilly commented that legislation stated that the decision to install traffic calming measures was a reserved function of councillors and that it should be on the agenda for the next council meeting.

Cllr Marianne Butler came back to request that the lights that are there be fixed, although it might be expensive, until the Active Travel measures are installed, asking, "can we just fix what's there, it has to be possible."

Cllr Maeve Yore mentioned that a young man lost his life at the location a number of years back and asked when would the Active Travel measures actually be installed, adding that she doesn't think a zebra crossing is the solution for that roundabout.

Mr Johnston came back to say that the lights that are there are so old that the manufacturer no longer exists, "even keeping them going is a problem". He said that they would spend €25-30 thousand on taking them away and installing the zebra crossing, which is the best proposal that they came up with.

Cllr Emma Coffey commented that if they downgrade the junction, which she said appears to be the case, then there is an exposure to the local authority, as she fears an accident will happen and she has serious concerns in terms of a fatality or a serious injury, "because that's what's going to happen."

Cllr Conor Keelan said that Cllr Liam Reilly's proposal on councillors exercising their statutory function in relation to the decision on traffic calming measures be explored. Following a suggestion that the wording on a motion on the matter be prepared for the next meeting, Cllr Tomás Sharkey proposed that the meeting be suspended for five minutes, so the wording could be agreed that evening and passed at the meeting, which was agreed by the members.

The meeting was suspended briefly to allow this take place, but members were advised by Mr Johnston, that while the legislation was in place to give the councillors the statutory function, the government minister never set out the regulations that would give the councillors the power to do so. It was agreed then that the councillors would meet with the council on the matter to find a solution.