Speeding motorists through Redhills ‘putting lives at risk’
Red surfacing will be placed on the approach to Redhills in an effort to reduce speed, after road safety measures were sought at Monday’s Bailieborough Cootehill MD meeting.
A request for a traffic and speed survey for the village has also been sent to the roads safety section of the council.
Councillor Stiofán Conaty (SF) tabled the motion during which he shared the “growing concern about speed” in the village.
“I don’t understand how people can get into a car and put their own lives and the lives of others at risk,” he told the meeting, adding that a car is a “lethal piece of machinery”.
“It’s not about getting to A to B as quickly as possible, it’s about getting there safely,” he added.
Having raised the issue previously, Cllr Conaty noted how he was told speed is “primarily a garda issue” however he pointed out “we don’t have a garda presence in Ballyhaise or Redhills.”
He pointed out, however, that the “design of the road” and ensuring that roads are “safe” is the responsibility of the local authority.
In this regard, he thanked the local authority for the funding at Treehoo cross, where safety works started last week, and cautioned motorists to approach this junction with care. A timeline was sought on this project, however the council executive said they would need to revert on this.
Cllr Conaty persisted that “speed is an issue” in Redhills and said that, despite this, there are “no speed ramps in the village”.
In the short term, he asked that warning signs be erected in the village to caution motorists of children playing, and he also asked for improved road marking at the junctions.
On roads leading into the village, he specifically mentioned the road between Redhills and Ballyhaise, branding it a “disgrace”. He also mentioned the L1517 from Carrickmore to Killoughter, which he said is in a “bad way.”
He described the latter as “the main artery connecting two villages” and expressed that he “wants to keep this road on the agenda”.
Cllr Carmel Brady (FG) supported the motion, and agreed that the RSA should conduct a survey in the area. She visited the area on Tuesday evening, when the speed at which people travelled through the village was “unbelievable” with many children playing on the green there. She said the residents are “very concerned” particularly for the children.
“What else can we do?” she asked.
Cllr Val Smith (FG) also supported the motion, describing how the issue of speed is present in “a lot of villages” and said “safety is a very big issue.”
Executive Engineer Kenneth Lennon said a request for a speed and traffic survey has been sent to the road safety section of the council. However in the interim, he said the local authority would place red surfacing at the 50km/h section outside the village to signal to motorists that they are entering an urban area.