Calls for better links between East Clare villages

CLOSER links between the villages of Bridgetown and O’Brien’s Bridge could be on the horizon, after a well-received motion from Councillor Tony O’Brien.

The Fianna Fáil member, who is also Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, has proposed the installation of a footpath, incorporating a cycle lane, from the village of Bridgetown to O’Brien’s Bridge and Upper Ardnataggle on the R463.

“This necessary piece of infrastructure would enable the community to access their local amenities such as the church, school, public houses and community playing pitch,” a motion before the Killaloe Municipal District outlined. “In the case of the primary school alone, it would cut down on a huge amount of private cars using the area on a daily basis as students cannot walk or cycle to school because of road safety concerns.”

The Killaloe man told the end-of-year district meeting that the area in question is “very large and highly populated”.

“This is very necessary infrastructure,” he said. “The area needs a footpath and cycle lane. The school in Bridgetown is not accessible and safe, as things stand. The school serves large number of families. I believe the numbers stack up to make the case for this. There is huge congestion around school in morning and afternoon. The local playground is in O’Brien’s Bridge. The sports field is in Bridgetown. It’s one community.”

A written response from Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) Derek Troy outlined that the motion would be referred to the Road Design Section of Clare County Council for submission to the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Mr Troy’s reply noted that the NTA allocates funding to local authorities, under the Active Travel Grants Programme. This facilitates “strategic pedestrian and cyclist routes, access to schools, permeability links, urban greenways and some minor public transport improvement projects”.

The response also noted that projects that have received funding out of 2022’s tranche of €289 million, were generally located within speed limit zones of 50kmph or 60kmph. 

Attention was also drawn, in the written response, to the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programme, a partnership between the NTA and An Taisce. “The aims of the STRS Programe are to improve safety at the school gate by providing ‘front of school’ treatments to alleviate congestion and improve access, to improve access routes to school by improving walking and cycling infrastructure and increase the number of students who cycle to school by expanding the amount of walking and cycling,” it stated. 

Reacting to the response, Councillor O’Brien described himself as “delighted”. “This would be a huge undertaking, but a very necessary and vital one,” he said. “Major benefits would be achieved for schools, for children and for the people of area in terms of walking, cycling and accessing amenities, including the church. The local community are fully behind the project and see it as necessary.”

The motion was seconded by Councillor Joe Cooney. “In fairness to the response, it’s very encouraging,” he said. “It won’t happen overnight, but would be a major asset to the area to have this link between two villages. I would welcome the reply, it’s very positive.”

Mr Troy told the meeting that there are certain conditions attached to the school safety scheme. “I would like to emphasise that point: it would be important that the school is registered with SRTS,” he said. “That goes for any school who has concerns about safety or access. they need to register first of all.”