Proposal to ban right turn at busy Mayo junction may cause more problems
A Westport councillor proposed that traffic at the busy Golf Course Road junction should turn left to solve traffic flow problems
A proposal to ban right turns at the top of the Golf Course Road in Westport may result in traffic congestion at another location according to a Mayo council engineer.
The traffic congestion at the Golf Course Road junction was once again raised by local councillors who complained that at certain times of the day, motorists are waiting up to 20 minutes to get onto the Newport Road.
The Golf Course Road has become particularly busy in recent years due to developments in the area such as 50 new council houses, the new Westport United and Westport GAA playing fields as well as being the main entrance to Westport House.
At the May monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District, Westport councillor Peter Flynn proposed that all traffic coming off the Golf Course Road in Westport should not be allowed to turn right onto the Newport Road in order to prevent congestion at the busy junction.
He explained that traffic which wanted to go into town would be diverted around the roundabout at Attireesh 'so you get a constant flow out of the Golf Course Road'.
“I think it is a good idea and we can try at little cost,” he told the meeting.
However, Heather Gibbons, Senior Executive Engineer with Mayo County Council said that while they can trial it her fears it will lead to a build up of traffic at the roundabout.
“We can look to do a trial but the only concern I would have is if we start turning left at the Golf Course Road we will end up at a stand still situation at the roundabout at busy times. We can look to do it but it may cause chaos,” she said.
The issue of traffic at the junction was raised by Carrowholly-based Independent councillor John O'Malley who informed the meeting that at certain times he chooses to drive around to Barley Hill to get onto the Newport Road instead of using the Golf Course Road.
“Something will have to be done because it is a nightmare coming up when there is traffic,” he said.
Cllr O'Malley added that there is not enough room for large vehicles to turn left without crossing over onto the opposite lane of the Newport Road and this was adding to traffic delays.
Ms Gibbons said that she will liaise with the Mayo Roads Design Office to see if there is any funding to carry out work to alleviate the problem and would also consider putting lights at the junction.
Cllr Brendan Mulroy said the council cannot turn a blind eye to the traffic congestion but added that the extra traffic was a sign of progress and they had to keep an open mind to any possible solution.