Plan to end MacHale Road speeding fears
7 August 1996
A plan has been drafted to put an end to the problem of speeding traffic at MacHale Road, one of Castlebar's oldest and largest residential areas.
Castlebar Urban Council scrapped a proposal to make the roadway a cul-de-sac following objections from retailers at the location. Instead, two traffic calming structures are to be erected at both ends of the road to cut down on the degree of traffic movement. The proposal is being welcomed by the MacHale Road Residents Association as well as the business sector located there.
Mr. John Condon, Town Clerk, outlined the plan at a special meeting of the authority. He explained the development would not only reduce the flow of traffic through MacHale Road, but it would significantly reduce the speed at which vehicles drove through the area.
Mr. Condon stated the traffic calming structures would be located a quarter of the way up the street at either end. There would be a three metres space in the centre of both of the structures to allow vehicles pass one at a time. Special accommodation was also being made for cyclists. The move, according to Mr. Condon, would result in the loss of a total of 32 car parking spaces along the road.
Mr. Kevin Guthrie, on behalf of the MacHale Road Residents Association, said their prime concern was for the safety of children in the area. Residents were living in fear in recent years of a child being knocked down and killed by the speeding traffic out on the road. Although they viewed the proposal to make the road a cul-de-sac as the best solution to the problem, they appreciated the concerns of the retailers in the area.
After viewing the new plan for traffic calming, Mr. Guthrie said it would go a long way to ending the problem of speeding traffic. In regard to the question of car parking spaces being lost, he said he did not think it would present a problem as there was plenty of parking space available along MacHale Road as well as the back road.
"If people have to make sacrifices in the interest of having a safer road on which to live, then I think they will have no problem in doing so."
Mr. Eamon Rabbette, representing the retailers of MacHale Road, told members of Castlebar Urban Council that the closure of the road would have been detrimental to the business community in the area. He explained there was a fifty per cent drop in business following the opening of the new distributor road in Castlebar, although it gradually came back.
He viewed the traffic calming proposals as 'the lesser of two evils' from his point of view. "The closure of the road could have closed businesses down. At least with this new proposal, people who want to find us can."
Mr. Eoin Garavan, chairman, paid tribute to John Condon, town clerk, Cyril Aitken, town engineer, and Seamus Granahan, Mayo County Council engineering team, for the speed in which they preparing the new plan.
He also thanked the residents association and traders for the constructive manner in which they approached the issue from the start.
Members of the council asked that work on the project starts at the
earliest possible date.
Connaught Telegraph - News - August 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - August 1996
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