WORKS have just got underway on a long-awaited pedestrian crossing for the village of Broadford, writes Fiona McGarry.
The traffic calming scheme, which was proposed by Councillor Joe Cooney, at the March meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District, will extend from the local national school to the GAA pitch.
Welcoming the commencement of the works, which are likely to take a number of weeks, Councillor Cooney said the issue had been on the agenda for some time.
“Everyone appreciates that these improvement works are badly needed,” he said.
“There is a serious issue with road safety for a number of years. Teachers and parents have worked well to keep issues under control on a very busy regional road and the really good news is that works are underway on a pedestrian crossing.
“When the job is completed, the area will be a lot safer for the pupils and wider community. While a lot of improvement works have been carried out to-date, unfortunately traffic calming had become an issue.
“There is a concern about people speeding through the village and it is my belief that these works will help to address that.”
The Fine Gael member also noted concerns locally over the condition of footpaths, which, it is hoped, might also be addressed soon.
“There is an issue at the moment with some of the footpaths around the village,” Councillor Cooney said.
“I’m working on that to see if the new paths can be extended. Some footpaths are in bad condition and some will be included in current works.
“There are also a few concerns in the village about vehicles parking on the paths. This is something the Council is giving consideration to.
“It won’t be a matter of stopping people from parking, but they will look at how footpaths can be kept for pedestrians, especially with the increase in the numbers of people out walking.”