Roscrea councillor 'hugely disappointed' over Tullaskeagh junction safety plans
A local councillor is ‘hugely disappointed’ with the current design for the N62 Road Improvement Project.
A major safety overhaul and road improvement project is set to transform the accident prone Tullaskeagh junction in Roscrea.
A local councillor was ‘extremely annoyed’ at the October meeting of the Municipal District of Thurles following the rejection of a request to include the extension of a footpath in the proposed plans.
Cllr Shane Lee was ‘hugely disappointed’ that the plan does not include an extension of the footpath from Benamore in Roscrea which would fall outside the agreed dimensions of the project.
The footpath extension would not be eligible for the same funding stream as the Tullaskeagh junction works.
“I have talked about this numerous times and it hasn't even been considered. There isn't even a proposal in place to just look at this,” said Cllr Lee at the meeting.
He continued, “We can’t let this scheme go by without even considering it. I am asking what is the plan from a road safety perspective, will it be safe for pedestrians?”
Senior District Engineer, Thomas Duffy, who was present at the meeting, said the extension falls outside the ‘technical and funding requirements’ of the project.
He said, “We could potentially look at it under the Active Travel scheme in the future, but right now it is not possible.”
Cllr Michael Smith supported the project saying that it is important it goes ahead in its current form given the history of fatal road traffic accidents in the area.