KILLALOE drivers are showing “a reluctance” to stop for school children at an existing controlled crossing in the town, a local councillor has warned.
An upgrade of Killaloe’s pedestrian crossings so that be “made more visible” was requested by Cllr Tony O’Brien. He also asked for a controlled crossing with lights to replace the existing infrastructure at Abbey Street.
Senior executive engineer in the Killaloe MD, Niamh Madden explained that the crossing was installed at Abbey St as part of the Aldi store planning permission.
She said, “A traffic impact assessment on the road network was carried out during the planning process and this examined existing and proposed vehicular and pedestrian movements on the public road network in the vicinity of the store”.
Based on this, it was decided that the existing crossing rather than a signalised crossing “is the most appropriate type of crossing for this location. I can confirm that this crossing is in fact a controlled crossing with both bellisha beacons and additional flashing amber signal lights which alert oncoming traffic both during the daytime and at night. There is a legal obligation on vehicles and cyclists to give way if pedestrians are using this crossing,” Ms Madden stated.
According to Cllr O’Brien, the area “is becoming a bit of a rat run” most notably at Convent Hill, St Flannan’s Rd, the cross roads and new street. “There are a lot of young kids using this road, the girls primary school is at the lower end of the road and there is a reluctance for drivers to stop,” he revealed. Safety for pedestrians using the crossing could be enhanced, O’Brien felt.
