€100,000 set aside for Taghmon crossing and traffic calming works

A €100,000 allocation has been set aside for initial works to improve pedestrian safety and traffic calming at Taghmon, where councillors have raised concerns about speeding and the difficulty of crossing the R394.

A design for a possible pedestrian crossing and traffic calming measures near Taghmon school is being prepared by the Transportation Section of Westmeath County Council.

The design is expected to be finalised by December, although council officials indicated that, if it is completed sooner, work could begin before the end of the year.

The issue was raised at the September meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District by Cllr Emily Wallace and Cllr Andrew Duncan.

Cllr Wallace asked whether a pedestrian crossing could be installed from Taughmon Church across the R394, providing a safer route for pedestrians accessing the graveyard, car park and school.

She said the location was “very, very busy” and presented particular difficulties for people with mobility issues and parents with young children.

“It’s a blind spot coming up from the Crookedwood end,” she said, adding that while flashing lights had helped, “speed is a huge, huge issue”.

Senior engineer Pat Kavanagh said the design was at an advanced stage and that €100,000 had been allocated for the initial works. “If we have the design and we could start it by the end of the year, it wouldn’t take an awful long time to build that,” he told the meeting.

Cllr Duncan expressed frustration at the timeframe, saying it was the third time he had raised the matter. “It’s the same answer as I got when I asked the question the last time,” he said.

He asked when councillors could realistically expect to see work “on the ground”.

Mr Kavanagh said the realistic timeframe for receiving the design was November or December.

Director of services Deirdre Reilly cautioned that the December timeframe meant the design would be completed by the end of the year and that the works would therefore be more likely to take place next year.

Cllr Duncan said he did not want the project to be put “on the long finger”.

“It is a school. It’s gone on a long time. There is an issue there,” he said.

The council confirmed that the Transportation Section is preparing a design covering both the proposed pedestrian crossing and traffic calming measures at Taughmon.

Monilea resurfacing

At the same meeting, Cllr Wallace asked that the district carry out resurfacing at Donnelly Cross, Garraree, Monilea, where, she said, the road has disintegrated.

"There's no grip on it: it's really, really bad and you're coming now into the winter again. So if we could put that up just because it's coming out onto a main road, that's the concern there.

The response from the district stated that the road will be examined and repairs will be carried out as part of normal road maintenance.

Supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme