Call for speed ramps on Limerick road is dismissed

A LIMERICK City and County Council official has ruled out installing speed ramps on a road behind a school in Newcastle West.
Lower Knockane Road lies behind Scoil Mhuire agus Ide in the county town.

At the area's local district meeting this month, Fine Gael councillor Tom Ruddle called for the installation of the speed control measures on the road.

He says local youngsters are using the thoroughfare for road bowling, causing chaos for traffic which use it.

“When there are games going on there, people can’t pass with their cars. It’s a very busy thoroughfare with traffic linking the Knockane/Monagea Road to the N21 road. When bowling takes place, cars find it very difficult to pass,” said the recently elected leader of the Newcastle West district.

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He added ramps would have the double benefit of stopping road games and slowing traffic down.

However, in a written reply, engineer John Sheahan said Lower Knockane Road is not suitable for ramps.

This, he wrote, is due to its “low traffic volumes, narrow width and low traffic speeds.”

Instead, the official said the local authority will place traffic counters along the route to confirm the current behaviour of traffic.

Councillor Ruddle admitted he was left disappointed in the answer he received.

“It’s up by the school, and it’s a busy area. These games go on early evening, they happen intermittently. You just don't know when they will happen really. When people come in the road, they'd need to go back the other way. It's a massive inconvenience for people when they are trying to get into town,” he added. “This is an ongoing issue for the residents around there.”