Manouvering safely at roundabouts

Concerns about the safety of roundabouts in the town were expressed at this week’s meeting of Shannon area county councillors.
Councillor Patricia McCarthy put down a motion asking that the roundabout at the comprehensive school be replaced by traffic lights.
In a written response, area engineer Eugene O’Shea stated, “I will request the road design office to examine whether any possible improvements, including the provision of traffic lights, can be made at the junction.”
Councillor McCarthy said it was time for an improvement to be made. “There have been some serious accidents and it’s time we looked at it and replaced it.”
Councillor Gerry Flynn said there had been “loads of accidents” at the site in question, which he said made safety improvements necessary. He said that his sister lives by the roundabout and that a woman had died in an accident there some years back.
The idea of installing traffic lights was supported by Councillor PJ Ryan, who said that at one time people were nervous of traffic lights, because of quite frequent malfunctions but that this was no longer a significant problem.
Also at the meeting, Councillor Gerry Flynn asked that the county council remove the shrubs and trees adjacent to the mini roundabout located on Drumgeely Road at the Tullyglass Hill/Droim Bóthar area, as he said a danger to road users was being created.
In response, Mr O’Shea stated that arrangements would be made to cut it back as soon as possible.
While Councillor McCarthy claimed that there was a big problem at the roundabout with vehicles “whizzing through”, Councillor Flynn said he lived near it and that he didn’t recall any accident there.
He said that the roundabout was small to allow large vehicles to drive over it.
While Councillor McCarthy said that most large vehicles do in fact go around it, Councillor Flynn disputed this and said it wasn’t possible. “I’ll give you a 45 footer and see if you can drive around it,” he said.