More grit for Farney roads

- Peter Hughes -

Several road traffic accidents have occurred in rural North Monaghan locations recently because roads there had not been gritted during icy weather conditions, it was claimed at Monday’s meeting of the Monaghan Municipal District.

Cllr Seán Conlon (SF) sought an amendment of the local authority’s winter road maintenance policy to ensure that roads in rural areas that carried a high volume of traffic, particularly those near schools, were treated when temperatures plummeted.

He said he had received appeals in this regard from Ballinode Community Centre and from constituents in Scotstown and Tydavnet, with some people claiming that accidents had happened in their localities because roads hadn’t been gritted.

Supporting Cllr Conlon’s call, Cllr Pauric Clerkin (FG) said it had been reported to him that a bus travelling towards Ballinode village had overturned where the road intersected with the Bog Road.

Thirty school buses traversed the McPhillips’ Cross area in this location to get to various destinations, he pointed out.

Cllr Raymond Aughey (FF) said he had also been contacted about the need for winter gritting measures on rural school bus routes. He thought there was a need to revisit this matter at policy level.

Cllr Bronagh McAree (SF) suggested that the rural North Monaghan roads designated for gritting had been identified 10-15 years ago and this list hadn’t been updated. In the interim, some rural schools had expanded greatly, she said, with several having added creche facilities.

Cllr McAree referred to reports of recent accidents in icy conditions at Clara National School and the Riverbank Community Childcare facility at Emyvale Enterprise Centre.

It was also reported to her that a school bus and a Local Link bus had collided with the hedge on the Mullan Road.

Cllr McAree said the use of some rural roads might have increased tenfold since the gritting policy was determined. There is widespread community concern about this, and some parents are frightened on mornings of freezing weather when school bus runs take place.

Municipal District Co-ordinator Martin Taylor said that Monaghan County Council gritted 610 kilometres of road every time crews were dispatched on a gritting operation. It is impossible from financial and resources points of view to grit every road.

Mr Taylor said he believed that the routes identified for gritting are reviewed every year. He was aware of the accident on the Mullan Road and Municipal District crews had subsequently gritted this and other roads that were not on the agreed routes.