Pedestrian safety enhanced on Doneraile bridge
A councillor who led calls for urgent measures at a dangerous bridge in Doneraile, has announced that the council are to carry out safety works.
Cllr Deirdre O’Brien said that she received multiple complaints from residents of the area who had grave concerns for pedestrians using the bridge in question, located on the R581, which crosses the river Awbeg, connecting the town with Doneraile Park, Nagle Rice Nice Secondary School and environs.
The bridge is used by heavy traffic, including articulated trucks, as well as schoolchildren and locals. Cllr O’Brien said that ‘real and legitimate concerns’ had been communicated to her.
“It is a very dangerous bridge and I can completely understand the concerns of the local people there. They believe someone could be killed. I called on the council to perform works there to ensure the safety of pedestrians - that has now been confirmed by the council, I am delighted.
“It is good news for Doneraile and I thank engineer Brendan O’Gorman for finding a solution. This will be looked at now and is hugely important. I raised this issue as I believe that it is critically important to ensure the safety of all pedestrians in the area,” the councillor said.
Cllr O’Brien has called on motorists and pedestrians to use extreme caution until the works are completed.
“Big trucks particularly are very frightening to be that close to at best, but I believe it is such that the danger posed by these vehicles must be mitigated against.
“I’m delighted that the council will undertake this work following my representations.”
Engineering staff contacted Cllr O’Brien and said that their work was somewhat stymied by the width of the footpath which is narrow in places.
The engineering staff said that the style of bridge would lend itself to a boardwalk but that at present, funding is not available for such a large scale project.
They had examined placing railings to protect people but this would adversely affect cyclists.
The council instead solved the problem by using a short term fix of utilising the low level continuous Maibach kerb system bolted to the top of the existing kerb. It is hoped that this will act as a warning to pedestrians and vehicles.
The funding will be provided from the existing budget which includes money for such discretionary projects.
GORSE BUSHES
Meanwhile, work is under way near Junction 13 of the M8 to deal with overgrown gorse bushes following a complaint by Cllr O’Brien.
Following her contact, council officials began work on the junction to clear the bushes which have become a hazard for motorists.