Road signs competely obscured by shrubbery
Up to 20 signs along a stretch of road in Conamara are covered and blocked by overgrown hedgerow, a community group has claimed.
And Choiste Bhóithre Chonamara has urged Galway County Council to trim the hedges on the sides of parts of the road from Casla to Carna – because it was causing a hazard for all road users.
Manus Ó Conaire, spokesperson for the group, said cutting overgrown hedgerow along the road in the Gaeltacht was needed as a matter of urgency for health and safety.
He wrote to the local authority this week with photographs of where the problem was most acute.
Mr Ó Conaire, who ran for election in Conamara North earlier this month, said the legislation to protect wildlife allows for derogations to cut hedgerows during the off-season from March to September, if there are grounds to act for road safety reasons.
The Council can act themselves to cut back the growth, or serve notice on landowners to do the same, he said.
Students attending Coláistí Samhraidh were walking along roads where growth from hedgerows has made it dangerous, he said.
One road in Rosmuc opposite Pearse’s Cottage needed to be trimmed for the safety of pedestrians, Mr Ó Conaire said.
A stop sign was also missing in Rosmuc, something he has also raised with the Council.
“This is about safety on our roads,” Mr Ó Conaire said.
Galway County Council confirmed in response that the Wildlife Act allows cutting of hedgerow for road safety reasons.
Pictured: A speed limit sign in Rosmuc, Conamara blocked by overgrown hedgerow.