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Councillor Pat Hayes has appealed once again for major safety works at Henchey's Cross on the R352.

Council to tackle Tuamgraney speeding issue

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SPEEDING traffic is causing concern on the approach roads to the village of Tuamgraney, last month’s meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District has heard.

The matter was raised by Councillor Pat Hayes who asked that new traffic calming measures be put in place “as present measures are not fulfilling their requirements”. The Fianna Fáil member outlined his concerns for the safety of residents with the increase in traffic over the summer period. “Many people are using the new path from Killaloe to Scariff,” he noted. “It’s around St Cronan’s Church in particular that you realise how much speed there is and how it’s creating a danger to residents. There’s speeding on all roads approaching Tuamgraney, but particularly on the road from Killaloe. The signage is helpful, but it’s not solving the problem.”

Councillor Hayes asked that solutions be investigated, potentially with a view to securing a funding allocation for works.

“Speeding starts at the hill at Raheen, he outlined. “There may be opportunities to enhance the village and to look at issue of speeding at the same time. There has been a big move to encourage pedestrianisation and great efforts by council already, but traffic calming and improved pedestrianisation infrastructure are needed in Tuamgraney. This may need a funding application under one of the programmes. We may also need to monitor traffic and do a speed survey. There is real merit in getting a long-term resolution given school and businesses returning to greater levels of activity.”

The motion was seconded by Councillor Pat Burke. “Tuamgraney forms a major crossroads in East Clare with traffic from Ennis and Scariff,” he said. “The general public don’t always understand. I turned left coming from Nuala’s and saw traffic that seemed to be driving far too fast. Tuamgraney is a historic village and you don’t want to fill it with signs and flashing lights. Speeding is an issue, though, there’s no doubt about that.”

The Fine Gael member outlined how a previous motion he had tabled resulted in a speed survey on the road to Reddan’s Quay in Tuamgraney.

“Residents don’t accept fully the results because they witness traffic passing and believe it’s way above speed limit,” he said. “They feel traffic is travelling much faster than what the surveys suggest. There is a problem in the village with the speed limit of 50kmph not being adhered to. People are overtaking at speeds above that. This is an issue in many villages, but especially Tuamgraney.”

Cathaoirleach of the district, Councillor Joe Cooney added his support to the motion. “There are three roads coming into Tuamgraney and there’s speeding on all three,” he said. “There has been a lot done in the past to try to slow the traffic, more need to be done and it’s good to see the council doing that.”

Councillor Hayes thanked Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) Niamh Madden for her reply to the motion. “Signs and speed limit may have to be dealt with,” he said. “A speed limit of 50kpmh in a built up area is a challenge in itself. The issue needs to be resolved.”

In a written reply, Ms Madden, said: “The Killaloe Municipal District will conduct speed surveys and assess the approaches to Tuamgraney. The outcome of this investigation will determine any future potential works that may be required and will form the basis of any funding applications that may need to be progressed in this regard.”

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