Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie
A DECISION by Mayo County Council not to prioritise a dangerous road used by cyclists and pedestrians on the Greenway in Achill was criticised by councillors.
The section of the R319 at Tonragee, Achill was described as dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians who have to leave the Greenway and join the main road at this section for approximately 800 metres.
The matter was raised at the Belmullet Electoral Area Committee meeting by local councillors who were concerned that funding was not made available to upgrade the stretch of road.
Cllr Michael Holmes said it was disappointing that the section of the road was not ‘listed for funding’ in 2012 and described the road as an ‘accident waiting to happen’. He said it would be a tragedy if something occurred along the road when funding was available.
Achill-based Councillor Micheál McNamara added that he recently cycled from Dublin to Achill and considered that section to be one of the most dangerous parts of the 300km journey. He said he wrote to the Minister of Transport about it and said he did not seem to be aware of this and said the Council needed to push for funding.
Council engineer Padraic Walsh said they were ‘unfortunately’ unable to secure funding for the Tonragee section of the R319 but said that safety measures such as signs were in place. He did acknowledge that the road would benefit from widening.
Meanwhile, Mr Walsh confirmed that the upgrade of the N59 at Knockbrega along the Newport to Mulranny road is nearing completion and should be completed in eight to ten weeks. Cllr Holmes said that local people were commenting on the length of time it was taking and Mr Walsh acknowledged that they had encountered bad weather which delayed the project.
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