Traffic calming measures installed on busy road

NEW TRAFFIC calming measures have seen ramps installed at pedestrian crossings, in a bid to slow down vehicles through Charleville.

In the past decade, there have been eight fatal collisions in the town, where pedestrians have lost their lives, with the most recent within a short walk of a pedestrian crossing.

There are five pedestrian crossings on the town’s main street from the north to the south of the town.

The town sees a huge volume of traffic and is particularly busy between 8am and 10am and from 4pm until 6pm.

Fianna Fáil Councillor Ian Doyle told The Limerick Leader that 15,000 vehicles pass through the town every day, and 25% of those are HGV’s.

He acknowledged that while the ramps at the crossings will slow traffic down, “without a ring road, they won’t take away the traffic.”

Cllr Doyle said the ramps will make vehicles abide by the speed limit.

Ramps have now been installed on three out of the five crossings, and the remaining ones are being installed.

“Ramps will make the pedestrian crossings more recognisable,” Cllr Doyle said.

Another pedestrian crossing for the junction of Broad Street with the main street is now ready to go to Part 8 planning and could take up to 10 weeks to complete.

Cllr Doyle said; “It will create a stoppage point for cars and lorries - people are crossing there anyway.”

The Charleville councillor thanked Minister Jack Chambers for his work in securing €50,000 for a survey on the possibility of a ring road.

“A ring road is definitely needed,” he said.

A public meeting was held at the end of January, organised by Charleville Community Forum.

The members believe that the infrastructure of the town has been disregarded by Cork County Council and that safety measures won’t remove HGV’s from the main street.

The forum members believe the ring road is vital and that it will relieve traffic congestion.

According to Cork County Council, “substantial progress has been made” on the pedestrian crossings at the graveyard, Aldi, Bank of Ireland and SuperValu.

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The raised table tops are to “encourage motorists to maintain a lower speed when travelling through the town via the Main Street.”

As part of the plans, existing pedestrian crossing lights will also be replaced.

There are plans to relocate the Centra pedestrian crossing so that it's closer to Broad Street.

“The purpose of this is to provide improved accessibility for pedestrians who wish to cross the Main Street at this location,” a council spokesperson told the Limerick Leader.

Works between the New Line Junction and Smiths Lane are also planned.