Motoring

A dedicated bus service for the town of Ennis could be operational by late next year or early 2024. That’s according to Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe who raised the issue with Ann Graham, chief executive of the NTA this week at the Oireachtas Transport Committee meeting A service for the town has long been spoken about and work is underway between the NTA and Clare County Council on finalising a route. “I’m delighted to be told by the NTA that a dedicated bus service for Ennis town is just around the corner,” said Deputy Crowe. “I raised this vital service with Ann Graham, chief executive of the NTA, in last evening’s Oireachtas Transport Committee meeting to get the latest update and was assured that the bus service will be up and running as soon as possible. “The hope is that an operator will be procured and it’ll be tendered by the end of next year, with early …

CLARE County Council is working at full capacity to grit 17% of the road network in the county, local councillors have been told. Senior engineer, John Leahy confirmed at a council meeting on Monday priority routes were salted twice a day and during the weekend with the help of ten drivers in recent days. Mr Leahy said 25 pick up trucks came into the yard on Monday morning and left with salt for areas in municipal districts. “It is not possible to cover the whole road network. We cover the national primary, national secondary, most regional roads and busy local primary roads. “We are operating at full capacity. We emptied a full salt barn in the last week, but we have adequate salt stocks in place for the cold snap. It is a difficult situation over the last few days because of weather conditions. “We are salting 17% of the road network,” he said. Councillor Joe Garrihy said rural roads …

A PROTEST regarding the poor state of Shannon bus services was held at the Town Park recently with the promise of more demonstrations to come. Speaking on the day Shane Doody, chairman of Ógra Sinn Féin for Clare said, “Today we are here to voice our anger and our frustration towards Bus Éireann. For far, far too long now, we have been ignored and utterly disregarded both as a community and as customers.” While there have been more complaints about the bus service over the last few months, he says it has never been good enough. “If we are being honest with ourselves, has our bus service ever been fully functional? “For years now we have been struggling with a second tier bus service that is inefficient and unequipped to manage Shannon’s ever growing population – with which Bus Éireann have failed to keep up. “It is high time now that Shannon is equipped with a competent bus service that …

“TOTALLY ridiculous” speed limits on rural roads have been strongly condemned by members of the Killaloe district, after a recent road incident recently in Mountshannon. Tabling a motion at the final district meeting of 2022, Councillor Pat Burke said people unfamiliar with rural roads needed to be alerted to the fact that the 80kmph speed limit is not appropriate. The Fine Gael member called for a review of all speed limits on local and minor roads and said the current 80kmph signs should be removed because of the confusion they are causing.  “All of us are familiar with 80kmph signs on local roads and boreens,” he said. “Heading down a boreen at 80km per hour, for the ordinary Joe Soap, that has never made sense at all. In some places on national roads, when you’re leaving to go down a local road, the sign is different and this is an indication to drive slower.” Senior Executive Engineer Derek Troy explained …

A MOTORCYCLIST who weaved in and out of traffic on a busy motorway and was pursued by a garda car at 180km/h has been told he could have killed himself.  At Ennis district court, Judge Mary Larkin imposed a two-year driving ban on Brian Gibson (33). Gibson, a pipe fitter with an address at Oakleigh Wood, Dooradoyle, Limerick, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving at the M18, Carrigoran near Newmarket-on-Fergus on April 9, 2022. Gibson admitted speeding but denied that his driving was dangerous.  After convicting Gibson of the offence, Judge Larkin said, “In my own view, I can’t even imagine driving a heavy car at 180km/h. I would say to Mr Gibson, if you hit a wall or clipped a car or anything at that speed, you would be dead.”  Judge Larkin told Gibson that he can’t travel at 180km/h on any road.  “The laws of physics apply,” the judge added.  In evidence, Garda Sarah Durack of Henry Street …

Gardaí are seeking information about an incident on the M18 motorway in Co Clare on Monday evening where a car was abandoned after it crashed and overturned. The single-vehicle incident occurred at around 8pm in the northbound carriageway of the M18 at Knockaskibbole close to junction 13, Tulla Road. It’s understood that the Vauxhall Astra car collided with the crash barrier and continued for some distance before overturning and coming to a stop on its roof. Fortunately the car remained in the hard shoulder and passing motorists managed to avoid colliding with it. Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Shannon stations responded to the scene along with Gardaí and National Ambulance Service paramedics. After checking the car for any occupants it was established that the car was empty and the driver had fled the scene. It’s not known how many people were in the vehicle at the time. Fire crews implemented an emergency traffic management …

A PROTEST regarding the standard of the 343 bus service serving Shannon is to be held at the Town Park at 12 noon this Saturday, December 3. It is being organised by the Clare Sinn Féin Ógra group and spokesperson Aoife Bennett Murray says they want to draw attention to a long-standing problem. “People have been looking for the 343 service to come on time and be reliable for years. Mike McKee, the late councillor, was fighting for that before he died, “Donna McGettigan has been getting onto them. But they’re not listening, they’ve put on a few double decker buses, but people are still saying the buses are coming 25 minutes late, people are losing out on wages, missing classes. “We’re having a protest and we’d like if a Bus Éireann representative came down to hear people and what they have to say about the whole situation.” A student of architecture at the University of Limerick, she says she …

TRAFFIC calming and safety are to be boosted in Tulla and Kilkishen, following the approval of works by members of the Killaloe Municipal District.  Both projects have been eagerly anticipated by elected representatives and local communities alike. However, there was a qualified welcome for the work in Tulla, where one local representative said further work will be needed to fully address issues on the ground, especially in light of new housing developments on the Gort Road.  In Tulla, traffic calming will be carried out on the R462 Regional Road at Church Road and Ennis Road. The works were proposed by Councillor Joe Cooney and seconded by Councillor Pat Hayes. “I really welcome the fact that the issue at the primary school will be addressed,” Councillor Cooney said. “It will be now be safer for children, staff and parents. Great credit is due to Council for all of the efforts to-date. More does need to be done. no scheme is achieved …