Councillors warn of accident risk at N52 junction

Westmeath councillors have warned that the junction serving Prebaun Belvedere and Anneville Road off the N52 is an “accident waiting to happen”, calling for the hard shoulder to be widened to make access safer for local residents.

Cllr Ken Glynn raised the issue at the October meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District, arguing that the existing layout created dangerous situations for motorists.

He called on the council to make a formal case to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for a relatively minor alteration, saying the current arrangement was unsafe despite having been constructed to TII standards.

“If you’re coming from the town and you’re turning left to go in there, basically the hard shoulder narrows as you get close to the junction,” he said.

He said rubble and other material along the shoulder compounded the problem, and motorists were sometimes forced into difficult positions as they attempted to turn off the main road.

Cllr Glynn explained that drivers travelling behind a vehicle slowing to turn left might attempt to overtake it, potentially putting themselves in the path of oncoming traffic.

Meanwhile, motorists approaching from the opposite direction and waiting in the filter lane to turn towards town could find themselves in the path of oncoming vehicles.

He said widening the hard shoulder would provide safer access for traffic turning into the area without requiring a completely new junction.

“I’m not looking for a whole new junction. What I’m simply looking for is, if the hard shoulder could just be widened, that it makes it safe for traffic that’s coming from the town side to come in,” he said.

Cllr Glynn said he had previously raised the matter and had also spoken to residents who regularly used the junction. He said he had driven the route that morning to assess the concerns raised with him.

He warned that the speed of traffic on the N52, particularly for vehicles travelling from the Kilbeggan direction, made the situation especially concerning.

Cllr Emily Wallace seconded the motion, describing her own experience of the junction as dangerous.

She said motorists crossing the road faced a blind spot, while drivers slowing to turn towards Belvedere risked being struck from behind by fast-moving traffic.

Cllr Wallace said the route was heavily used by local people and provided a convenient connection into Mullingar. She said the junction was particularly hazardous in poor weather and criticised the reliance on technical standards when local experience suggested a road layout was unsafe.

“Local knowledge is what the standard should be,” she said, arguing that the real conditions by drivers experience needed to be taken into account.

Cllr Wallace added that the sightlines for motorists approaching from the Kilbeggan direction were a particular concern.

Cllr Bill Collentine also supported the motion, saying the danger was evident and that the problem did not appear to require major works to resolve.

Director of services Deirdre Reilly told councillors that the junction had been built in accordance with TII standards, meaning the municipal district could not independently alter its design. She said a letter could be sent to TII and that council engineers would continue raising the concerns with the agency.

Cllr Glynn asked that the correspondence go further than simply outlining the problem and specifically recommend that the hard shoulder be widened in the interests of public safety.

He also pointed to another junction nearby, locally known as the Low Road or Route 14, which residents had identified as a safer arrangement.

He said the council should ask TII to consider a similar solution at Prebaun Belvedere and Anneville Road. “I guarantee, I hate to say this, I guarantee if we don’t [act], something will happen,” he warned.

Tullaniskey

Cllr Glynn also asked whether proposed safety measures at the junction of the Lynn Road and the N52, towards Tullaniskey, would be sufficient to address the dangers faced by motorists.

The council has allocated €7,000 this year for additional signage and road markings at the junction as part of its road safety improvement programme.

Cllr Glynn questioned whether the money would be better spent on a more substantial solution, pointing out that the layout could leave vehicles turning across the road in the path of traffic emerging from the Lynn Road.

Cllr Emily Wallace said she now avoided that junction because she considered it too dangerous, particularly when vehicles were turning across the road and traffic approaching Mullingar failed to slow down.

She also raised concerns about inadequate lighting on one side of the junction and said vehicles towing trailers faced particular difficulties.

District engineer Pat Kavanagh said one of the main problems was the risk of rear-end collisions involving vehicles stopped at the junction.

He said additional warning signs and road markings, including signs alerting motorists to the stop ahead, were being provided, while hedges would be cut back as far as possible to improve visibility.

Mr Kavanagh said the junction had been constructed as part of the realignment of the N52 several years ago and complied with the original design standards.

He said the additional signage and markings would provide further warnings to approaching motorists, although the available funding was limited.

Supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme