Achill councillors feels 'accident waiting to happen' at church junction

Concern has been raised in Achill that work on the new enhancement scheme through the village of Achill Sound will make the road too narrow and a danger to road users.

Local councillor Paul McNamara raised the matter at the monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District where he said that a number of residents have raised their concern that the road has become too narrow close to a junction beside the parish church.

The Fianna Fáil councillor called on Mayo County Council engineers to visit the site to ensure the work is done correctly before it is completed.

“The works ongoing are a great enhancement to the village but I have been inundated with calls about the junction beside the church at Achill Sound and how narrow the road has got,” he told the meeting.

“A pedestrian crossing is being put in place right at that corner and the junction itself is quite dangerous. I have had numerous calls about it from people asking why the road is being narrowed so much at that spot.

“For some reason or another there is a large area left for the footpath and why it is so big I don't know. To me there is an accident waiting to happen at that particular spot. I would ask that the council look at it before final reinstatement works are done and have someone from the roads department look to see if it needs to be to those restrictions,” he said.

Cllr McNamara pointed out that the junction at the church can be very busy as it leads to a number of houses as well as the local national school and is also the access road for the fire and coast guard stations as well as the doctors surgery and library.

Construction on the enhancement works through the village of Achill Sound - at the entrance to the island - got underway in October and is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks. The works includes a cycleway and pedestrian path through the village and has resulted in an extensive development of the streetscape of the village with a promenade and picnic area being developed opposite Sweeney's SuperValu supermarket.

Padraig Walsh, Head of the Municipal District said that the work through the village is being undertaken by the tourism department of the council and he will liaise with them regarding Cllr McNamara's concerns.

“I will check with them to see if all the relevant standards are being met. I am sure they are,” he commented.