Demands for greater road safety in Breaffy

Edwin McGreal

A public meeting in Breaffy last night (Monday) heard of local demands for traffic calming and reduced speed limits in the village. Many locals are concerned that the current speed limit on the main N60 Castlebar to Claremorris road which passes through the village is too high and subsequently dangerous.
There is currently just a 100km/h speed limit through the village, with locals concerned about the dangers of exiting onto the road from Breaffy NS and Breaffy Church, and also at the junctions to Breaffy House Resort, all of which are situated close together.
Two previous applications from Mayo County Council to the National Roads Authority (now Transport Infrastructure Ireland) for a reduced speed limit were refused.
However TII have confirmed that they have approved the appointment of a consultant to prepare a traffic calming scheme at Breaffy. The timeframe for this is unclear as the TII have stated that a framework for appointing consultants for safety schemes like the one at Breaffy has yet to be established. Until that is completed, no consultant will be appointed to th  project. Mayo County Council have stated that they intend to reapply to TII for the introduction of a 60km/h speed limit, once the ‘design of the scheme is completed and agreed’.
In 2010 in a letter to Mayo County Council’s then County Engineer, Joe Beirne, the NRA stated the council’s proposal to reduce the speed limit in Breaffy that it did ‘not merit’ a 60 km/h limit.
There are over 400 children attending Breaffy NS and locals are concerned that at peak school times, exiting onto the main road has become increasingly dangerous.