Council is urged to act over rat run through estate
Ballinfoile Park has been described as a ‘rat run’ for motorists wishing to avoid the Kirwan roundabout.
Councillor Mike Cubbard is calling on the council for a solution to the “unacceptable” occurrence which sees anything from 200 to 300 cars pass through the residential estate during peak morning times.
Each morning between 7.30 and 8.45am, cars can be seen filing through the estate to get to the Dyke road to avoid the heavy traffic at the Kirwan roundabout.
A total number of 280 cars were counted by Cllr Cubbard last Wednesday as they travelled in single file through the estate.
“In an estate with a large number of children going to school on foot, this is not acceptable and raises serious safety concerns,” said Cllr Cubbard.
The councillor has been in contact with Director of Services, Joe O’Neill, to intervene and set about monitoring the estate for himself during these times and then work with residents to come to a solution.
“A residential estate is just that and should not be accepted as a rat run for traffic of this proportion.”
This is not an isolated incident as residents in Tirellan Heights are also being affected by the increased volume of cars passing through the estate.
“Children in a residential estate should be able to walk to school without their parents fearing for their safety,” he said.
The situation has been ongoing for several years, but it’s only in the past two that the traffic has escalated and become a serious issue, according to residents.
It has been suggested that the entrance nearest the green about half away up the estate could be closed for an hour or so during the period of the morning which is worst affected.
Another suggestion was to allow only residents to enter the estate, but as for monitoring the cars, Cllr Cubbard is unsure how this would be put into action and carried out effectively, be it through the Gardai or the council.
Ballinfoile Park residents have been working with Cllr Cubbard and hope to develop the green area into a play area for the children living in the estate – however, none of this can be achieved until the traffic problem is dealt with.
“Both go hand in hand. You can’t develop a play area or a pitch for the community in an area where there are serious safety concerns. The traffic issue has to be tackled first,” said Cllr Cubbard.