*Photograph: Arthur Ellis
A NORTH CLARE councillor has pledged to keep the pressure on local authority staff to bring about a traffic management plan for the square in Miltown Malbay.
Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) at Monday’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District echoed his frustration with the failure to introduce traffic management at the square in Miltown Malbay, twelve years on from proposals by retired councillors Christy Curtin (IND) and Michael Hillery (FF).
Attempts to improve safety at the square have been ongoing for “twelve to fifteen years,” Cllr Slattery remarked. He said it was important to keep pressure on Transport Infrastructure Ireland, “The TII can object to a planning application within five weeks but is there anything back on them from this since our last meeting. I will be pursuing this, this project is not going to die, it has to happen”.
Acting senior executive officer, John Corry said he and senior engineer Tony Neville held “a productive meeting with road design” since the July meeting of the West Clare MD. “We’ve also engaged with local landowners with regard to the proposal to improve issues at the junction, we’ve had positive engagement since, a further enhanced design has been drafted which we are proposing to share with local councillors before we go back to the TII. There has been significant progress since we last spoke at the July meeting”.
At the July meeting, Cllr Slattery and Cllr Shane Talty (FF) both tabled motions on the matter. Cllr Slattery requested the design of a new traffic management plan such as a roundabout at the square while Cllr Talty asked for “a commitment of resources a timeline to progress a traffic management solution at the Square in Milltown Malbay. In reply to a motion in September 2022, we were told designs were to progress in the following months but no evidence of anything having been done”.
Both councillors received the same reply from Anne O’Sullivan, a senior executive engineer in the transportation section of the Council. “A site meeting was held with TII regarding safety improvements at this junction in March 2024. A topographical survey is scheduled for July and this will allow for the update of the existing concept design to incorporate pedestrian and cyclist facilities in line with the new Cycling Design Manual. An application was made to TII in June 2024 for Active Travel ‘Seed’ funding to progress a project to deliver improved pedestrian & cyclist facilities at this junction which would incorporate improved traffic management at this location.
