Nothing to change at McDonald’s junction

There was palpable friction between elected members of Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District and the executive as an update on the pilot traffic management project for the county town was discussed at their October meeting.

In August it was announced the MD were commencing a pilot project at Castle Street, Pearse Street and Church Avenue in Mullingar to improve traffic circulation in the town.

Those works include optimising junction layouts, enhanced pedestrian safety features, review of traffic signal timings, parking information signage and ongoing monitoring of traffic patterns.

At this month’s meeting of the authority, senior executive engineer at Westmeath County Council, Pat Kavanagh, outlined to the members details of the assessment undertaken. The measures have been the subject of much public discussion, and Westmeath Examiner readers have been active on our digital platforms to vent their frustration about the changes.

Cllr Ken Glynn had also tabled a motion focusing on one particular feature of the trial plan.

In his presentation, Mr Kavanagh said the new layout is “to improve safety for pedestrians as well as improve on the traffic flow through the [Castle Street] junction and the entire network”.

He said design options available to planners were inhibited: “Just to give you a little bit of background, our hands are somewhat constrained here,” Mr Kavanagh told the meeting.

“The design criteria we have to comply with is a design manual for urban roads and streets. This is a Government of Ireland document.”

That design manual requires specific focus: “We have to prioritise pedestrians. That’s our number one design criteria. Second then would be cyclists, public transport and then traffic. So, in other words, you’re protecting the most vulnerable road user for safety.”

The engineer said the plan rolled out in August had defined aims: “One of our main objectives here was to reduce the crossing times for pedestrians to allow them to use the pedestrian crossings efficiently. Also to reduce traffic congestion, particularly coming from Pearse Street. It’s a particularly busy junction with a high pedestrian footfall.”

Mr Kavanagh pointed to “simplifying the vehicle movements to create smoother flow” and said since the new traffic management plan was put in place, the local authority have collected “scientific engineering data” to come up with any possible better design. That data was assessed by independent consultants.

He said having an appropriate traffic management plan is essential: “Mullingar is a thriving town. It’s fantastic to see it, development is very much dependent on ease of access across the town. As the town develops, the traffic plan will be constantly changing.”

The engineer said the plan takes into consideration the views of shop owners, businesses, and the residents of the areas, while adhering to government guidelines: “It about how we can protect vulnerable road users at this junction. In other words, people with disabilities, people that are visually impaired and children. If we want to encourage children to walk or cycle to school, then we have to make it safe for them to do so.”

He said the data available to the local authority suggested the pilot traffic management project has improved traffic flow by as much as 50%.

The final recommendations include the creation of permanent build-outs with tactile paving to reduce the crossing width in Church Avenue, not to introduce a filter lane on Pearse Street, and dismissing suggestions of a roundabout due to pedestrian safety concerns and traffic flow. Mr Kavanagh said the local authority will continue to monitor traffic and pedestrian flow throughout the network.

Cllr Ken Glynn’s motion on the issue sought to bring forward plans to provide a roundabout and a filter lane at the Church Street junction to “finally end the ongoing traffic issues”.

Cllr Andrew Duncan (FG) said the issue was a particularly contentious one in Mullingar. He said it was vitally important that town centre businesses were consulted on the issue: “If they are happy, I am happy,” he told members.

When Cllr Glynn spoke on the matter he said: “The executive have tried to get this right, but haven’t. I’ve been a thorn in their side all along. My motion still stands, that’s the way I feel about it. I am just asking for an open mind on it.

“I will defer the motion to the new year, I feel that businesses need to be consulted on this.”

In concluding the issue, director of service, Deirdre Reilly, said the necessity to comply with is a design manual for urban roads and streets, along with the data collected during the trial period, meant “the answer will not change in January”.

“I hope you can respect that this is based on the grounds of safety.”