*The L3120 in Cratloe.
LACK OF LIGHTING IN CRATLOE has been attributed to one local man breaking his leg in recent times, a county councillor has claimed.
Speaking at a recent sitting of the Shannon Municipal District, Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) flagged that one man in Cratloe “broke his leg” after he was “blinded by a car coming against him and he fell”.
At the meeting, Cllr O’Gorman had requested the installation of public street lighting on the regional road, L3120. “This road connects Cratloe, Ballymorris and Portdrine on both sides of the dual carriageway and is an access point for residents including walkers, cyclists and motorists to travel from one side of the dual carriage to the other”.
Senior executive engineer in the Shannon MD, Tom Mellett believed the installation was “not an appropriate measure at this point as there are inconsistent pedestrian specific facilities”. Such a move on a road running adjacent to a national road also needed “careful consideration due to the potential impact on road users along the National Road”.
Mellett acknowledged that “there is a longstanding desire to have the underpass at Ballymorris lit up, while Clare County Council do not have control of this piece of infrastructure we have engaged with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to achieve a satisfactory resolution”.
Cllr O’Gorman noted that the matter had been raised by Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) during his time on the Council.
“It seems to be a misunderstanding along the way. It’s a L road, all L roads I was of the understanding were under the control of Clare County Council. You’d be thinking if it was that it was under Council’s control that we could do something about it. People have lobbied TII and they have said it was a Council issue. I had a lot more detail in the motion and Anne (Griffin acting senior executive officer) advised me to take it out. There are children walking under the underpass in the dark and even one man broke his leg there”.
Neither the Council or TII are accepting responsibility, Cllr John Crowe (FG) agreed. “At the end of the day people are using the underpass with kids going to school in the darkness”. He said clarity was needed on who was “in charge”. “This isn’t the first time there is ambiguity with Clare County Council and TII,” Cllr Michael Begley (IND) observed.
Motion sensors with LED lighting could be a solution, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) suggested while referencing the “risk to people using the underpass”.
Responding to elected representatives, Mellett explained, “It is a public road and we are roads authority but it is covered by the national roads contract which is TII’s responsibility, this road while it is a local road falls within that contract. We can’t do anything without TII on board. We would like to see it lit up but there are issues with pedestrian facilities, there are other elements which we should be addressing”.
Projects are delayed because of TII, Cllr Flynn remarked. “TII are popping up time and time again, they are disruptive and are slowing down projects”.
Similar occurrences were noted in South-East Clare, Cllr Begley commented as he pointed to ESB’s role with the bridges by the Errina Canal.
