Upgrades to the entrances and roadside wall at one of Clare’s biggest housing estates are to be carried out.
An appeal for the upgrade of the Westbury entrances and roadside wall which were said to be “in a very unsightly state” was tabled by Cllr Michael Begley (IND).
Funding has been secured, senior executive engineer Tom Mellett confirmed with investigation works underway to determine the condition of the wall before finalising plans. “The intention is to engage with local community groups before works commence and that all works will be completed by the end of this year”.
Concern on the stability of the wall was voiced by Cllr Begley at this month’s meeting of the Shannon Municipal District. “It doesn’t look to be well built, hopefully it will be okay to reinstate some sections that need to be. It is very unsightly and has fallen into disrepair.
Urgency must be placed on the works, Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) believed. “It is the biggest housing estate we have, over 1000 houses inside. The wall is not nice. The people living in there deserve better”.
O’Gorman at the same meeting asked for a survey on traffic movements to be completed to justify the reduction of the speed limit or installation of calming measures. This survey will be completed when traffic returns to pre COVID-19 levels, Mellett confirmed, “the information can be used to identify areas of concern where further works will be required”.
Speaking at the May meeting, Cllr O’Gorman detailed that it is one way in and out for over 1000 houses at Westbury with the speed limit at 30kph at the entrance, “the residents want the entire estate to be at 30kph or have traffic calming”.
“It is a complex enough estate to control traffic in,” Begley stated as he voiced his support for the proposal. “There is a very large open space which is inviting speeding, there is only one way in but two exits,” the Clonlara representative commented.
