Ballinrobe councillors call for traffic calming on Abbey Street

Councillors from the Ballinrobe area have backed calls for a pedestrian crossing to be installed near Tesco in the town. 

Cllr Patsy O’Brien had requested that Mayo County Council provide an updated plan for the proposed installation of a pedestrian crossing near Tesco and the construction of a new car park on Abbey Street. 

The local authority said that consultants are due to be appointed to carry out designs and progress funding for various measures in the town, including the car park and pedestrian crossing. 

Cllr Michael Burke, speaking at a meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District, said that it would take ‘great imagination’ to improve safety on the street.

“Speed is a big problem on Abbey Street. If we were to put in some kind of a traffic calming situation on Abbey Street it would help people to feel more comfortable along that stretch,” said Cllr Burke.

Cllr Damien Ryan also supported the proposals for Abbey Street but said that some rural areas were being ‘left behind’ by Smarter Travel in favour of larger urban centres. 

“We need to have a plan that covers both, and we can’t be looking at one and forgetting about another. It needs to be a two-tier allocation, and if that’s a policy that’s the be devised here, we’ll devise it,” said Cllr Ryan.