Residents call for upgrade works on Limerick road to go further

CITY residents have called for additional safety measures to be added for a road in their community, where an upgrade is taking place.

Improvements to Old Cratloe Road are set to get under way, with an Active Travel scheme to add cycle lanes and footpaths, traffic calming measures like bollards and planters for speed reduction.

But locals want these measures to go further, and a petition with 14 pages’ worth of signatures has been passed to Roughan and O'Donovan Consulting Engineers, which is carrying out the road reconstruction alongside Dooradoyle firm Wills Bros on behalf of council.

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It was presented to Michael Gibbons, an engineer for the firm at a residents’ public meeting in the Country Club Bar earlier this month.

The main areas of concern raised by locals were speeding motorists, and the petition is seeking that the Council install appropriate speed calming ramps, road safety mirrors and solar radar speed signs.

Mike McLoughlin, who lives in Old Cratloe Road, and is a member of the local residents association said: “For those living on the Old Cratloe Road it is evident that the volume and speed of traffic has vastly increased over the last two years. The number of near misses experienced by residents simply trying to exit their house to do school runs, is unacceptable when there is an obvious solution to the problem.”

He also pointed out that in the last two years, speeding motor vehicles have caused family pets to die.

“It would be such a waste of resources and time to make the much-needed adjustments to the road without factoring in the real safety concerns from all residents. We dread to think the potential fatalities this issue could result in,” he added.

The petition was drafted and issued by Bernie Sherlock, of Pass Road, Mr McLoughlin and Joan O’Neill, both of Old Cratloe Road.

Comment has been sought from council.