Westport councillors look to replace ‘disastrous’ courtesy crossings

A Westport councillor has claimed that courtesy crossings in the west Mayo town are not working, saying it is time to install proper pedestrian crossings.

A number of ‘courtesy crossings’ have been located around Westport for a number of years but their value has been questioned by some councillors, who say they are confusing to pedestrians and motorists and they are in constant need of repair.

Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn raised the issue of courtesy crossings at the monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District where he described them as ‘a disaster’.

“They are just not working, and it is time we dealt with them once and for all and bring in some proper crossings like other towns in Ireland and around the world. They are not working. All they are doing is damaging people’s cars.

“It is time we address the elephant in the room regarding these crossings and come up with a permanent solution that would give us something which will work for pedestrians and motorists going forward,” he said.

The courtesy crossings are not governed by the same rules as zebra crossings or other pedestrian crossings, where pedestrians have right of way when they step onto the road. This has led to confusion between some motorists and pedestrians.

Westport-based councillor Brendan Mulroy, who previously called for them to be removed, stated that ‘maybe it’s time to take these crossings out completely’.

“Either make them all pedestrian crossings and have lights on them or don’t have them there at all. It is only a matter of time before someone gets killed,” he said.

Heritage status

Padraig Walsh, Head of the Municipal District told the meeting that each pedestrian crossing can cost up to €40,000 to install. He acknowledged that they do not have a long lifespan because the paving does not get enough time to settle.
He explained that the courtesy crossings were installed in Westport because of the town’s heritage status, and that the appearance of any replacement crossing has to be taken into consideration if they choose to replace them.

“We could totally replace the paving with coloured macadam and your problem would nearly be gone in terms of ongoing maintenance. It wouldn’t look as good but it’s an option. You could make them into full pedestrian crossings but you would have a plethora of flashing amber lights, and it would not look that well in Westport.

“We don’t have the money to do a complete paved replacement because it is of the order of €40,000 per site. We have looked at a more serviceable solution but there might be people who think it will downgrade the appearance,” he added.

Cllr Flynn said it might be time to replace a courtesy crossing with a pedestrian crossing on a trial period, but he was informed the council does not have the money to replace them.

When asked by Cllr Mulroy whether the council is so skint that it can not take out a crossing, Mr Walsh replied that the funding had not been included in the year’s budget.