RESIDENTS in Clonroadmore are having difficulty exiting their homes due to the planters and bollards installed for a segregated cycleway.
Since their installation in August 2019, the planters and bollards in front of St Flannan’s College leading to the Kilrush Rd from Clonroadmore have been lauded by cyclists but residents stated that they brought chaos to the area.
An adaptation of the planters and bollards was sought by Cllr Johnny Flynn “to ensure that drivers exiting estates and private houses can do so without crossing the centre line onto oncoming traffic”.
Staff within Clare County Council’s road design office have said that the junctions all comply with the design manual for urban roads and streets. “On the tighter junction radius the driver has to approach the junction square to the main road and then rotate to the left. If the driver proceeds to cut the corner they will either mount the kerb (hit the bollard) or have to cross the centre line to turn left. The purpose of the tighter radius is to reduce speed of vehicles,” senior executive engineer with the Ennis Municipal District, Eamon O’Dea explained.
Width of the road is very narrow, Cllr Flynn commented. “A number of residents are having difficulty getting in and out of their driveways or to turn left out of town, they’re having to go out across the line,” he added. Emails forwarded to local authority staff have not been replied to, Flynn highlighted. He told a meeting of the Ennis MD that the residents of two homes cannot safely exit their property.
Engineers should meet with Cllr Flynn “to see if there is room to manoeuvre,” Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) believed. “It is important to acknowledge the success of the cycle path, the safety it has brought for cyclists has been brilliant, there’s kids cycling to school on a daily basis,” he said. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Ann Norton (IND).
