BOG CROSS A ‘FATALITY WAITING TO HAPPEN’
CLLR PLEDGES TO RAISE TRAFFIC SAFETY AT BOG CROSS WITH COUNCIL
URGENT safety measures need to be put in place at a dangerous crossroads in north Cork that a local county councillor has described as “a serious accident just waiting to happen”.
Cllr Ian Doyle (FF) said he intended to raise the situation at Bog Cross, on the Charleville to Newmarket Road, with local authority engineers at the next meeting of the Council’s northern area committee.
Speaking to The Corkman Freemount resident Denis O’Brien said he was prompted to bring the issue to Cllr Doyle’s attention following the latest in a long string of incidents at the Cross last Monday.
“This matter is causing grave concern to local residents. I just cannot believe that the council cannot, or will not, do something to prevent the constant run of accidents at the cross. On a daily basis there are numerous near misses at that crossroads,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said the main problem stemmed from the Dromcollogher approach road to the staggered junction and that “for some reason” vehicles coming from that direction do not stop when approaching the main Charleville to Newmarket road.
He said that only last week there was a serious crash at the junction, resulting in a lengthy road closure while the fire brigade worked on it.
“It’s just a matter of time before a fatality happens at the Cross. It’s a miracle that nobody has been killed there this year. I’ve seen numerous cars on the ditch straight across the road and there are bits of vehicles scattered everywhere,” said Mr O’Brien.
“I spoke to Cllr Doyle who has promised to raise the matter at Council level. I just felt that if the matter was highlighted, it might move things on a little faster, before a tragedy happens there,” he added.
Cllr Doyle told The Corkman that he had passed through the junction this week to see for himself what the issues was.
“Having approached the Cross from Dromcollogher myself I can see how motorists, particularly those who might not be familiar with the area, might not realise they were approaching a crossroads until it was too late,” said Cllr Doyle, who pointed out that last Monday’s accident was the second one at the Cross in the last week alone.
“At the very least the signage approaching the junction needs to be upgraded, because at its stands the Cross is a serious accident just waiting to happen. I will be raising the issue at the next meeting and will impress upon officials that urgent action needs to be taken to address this serious issue,” he added.