New Co Galway campaign to target overgrown hedges and ash dieback for road safety

Landowners are being reminded of their legal responsibility to maintain roadside hedges and trees as a new campaign aims to improve safety for all road users.

Galway County Council is launching a campaign to tackle overgrown roadside hedges and dangerous ash dieback trees as part of a drive to improve road safety across the county.

As part of the initiative, the council is producing an information leaflet outlining the responsibilities of landowners to maintain hedges and trees along public roads and the dangers posed by overgrown roadside vegetation.

The campaign comes as the council steps up efforts to identify locations where overgrown hedges, roadside vegetation and ash dieback trees create hazards for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Roads staff will focus on areas where vegetation blocks sightlines at junctions and bends, obscures road signs and public lighting, narrows roads, or affects footpaths and school routes.

While the council will first seek the cooperation of landowners in addressing problems, it can take formal action where necessary to ensure dangerous hedges or trees are cut back or removed.

"It remains the responsibility of the landowner or occupier to ensure that trees, hedges and other vegetation on their lands do not interfere with the safe use or maintenance of the public road," the council said.

The information leaflet will support the targeted campaign and will be used in areas where particular problems have been identified.

The initiative follows a request from Independent Cllr Geraldine Donohue for an update on measures being taken to identify and deal with roadside hedges and ash dieback trees that pose a risk to public safety.

The issue was raised at last month's meeting of Galway County Council, where Independent Ireland Cllr Declan Geraghty said roadside hedges were "playing puck" and "need looking after".

He highlighted once again that overgrown hedges were damaging the wing mirrors of large trucks and other vehicles.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme