RESIDENTS living at Spancilhill Cross can “almost feel the vibrations of traffic coming at top speed” heading towards Ennis, writes Jessica Quinn.
A meeting of Ennis Municipal District councillors heard calls were made for more garda patrols of the route.
The Council has agreed to monitor traffic speeds on the R352 and the findings will be reported to An Garda Siochana.
The concerns of residents were raised by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy who sought a review of the cross for low-cost safety scheme design.
She outlined the “serious health and safety concerns” with traffic at the Spancilhill Cross and the “ongoing speeding” on this section of the Tulla Road.
She recalled a collision had been reported just days before the meeting of councillors.
In light of that she suggested a series of measures to address the community’s serious concerns about speeding on this section of road.
The councillor stated Ennis Municipal District should coordinate with the Gardaí to patrol this section more regularly, possibly locate a speed van there on a regular basis, to monitor ongoing speeding and safety issues.
Ten residents recently met with council engineers to outline their worries about safety on the route, the meeting heard.
Responding to Councillor Colleran Molloy’s motion, John Gannon, senior executive engineer, stated that the Road Design Office will include Spancilhill Cross on the R352 within the 2022 Grant
Funding Application to the Department of Transport for Road Safety improvement Works on Regional and Local Roads.
Also the Road Design Office and the Ennis Municipal District will monitor traffic speeds on the R352 from Spancilhill Cross towards Ennis.
“These findings will be reported to the Traffic Department of An Garda Síochána,” he confirmed.
He added that the local authority does not have the authority to change the speed limit, which is under the remit of the National Transport Authority.
He did however, state his belief that 80kph is “too fast and that speed limit will be an ongoing issue for us”.