Speed ramps not preferred option for Bellurgan area
AFTER hearing that ramps were not the preferred option of engineers to slow down traffic it was agreed at the April meeting of Dundalk Municipal District that members would get a report from officials on what was acceptable.
Debate on the issue arose when Cllr Andrea McKevitt proposed a motion calling for ramps and other safety measures outside Bellurgan National School.
She said there was a serious risk to life as Bellurgan United FC and a filling station were also in the vicinity.
Director of Services Catherine Duff, in a written reply, said it was not Louth County Council policy to install ramps but engineered traffic calming and road safety measures based on evidence.
Cllr McKevitt had also looked for additional safety ramps, as well as a continuous white line along the Lordship straight, from Annaloughan to the Old Hall Road.
She said there had been a fatality recently on that stretch of road.
Vehicles were speeding up again after negotiating the existing ramps.
It was too dangerous to walk on the footpaths there.
Cllr Antóin Watters said he worked in Lordship and doesn’t know how many close calls he had coming out onto the main road.
He had a similar motion in respect of the road at Bellurgan NS/ Bellurgan Utd and said if speed bumps were not the answer then he suggested reducing the width of the road with a traffic island.
He had spoken to the school principal and he would support that course of action.
Cllr Watters said it was an accident waiting to happen if traffic was not slowed down.
Senior Engineer Mark Johnston said the council preferred narrowing road widths and speed cushions, among other options.
He added ramps were a problem for buses, ambulances and fire engines, and were not the answer in a lot of cases.
There was agreement for Cllr Tomás Sharkey’s suggestion of a presentation from engineers.
Cllr Maria Doyle said to have that information would be extremely helpful