“Our own kids cry crossing the road” - claim Mayo parents

DELAYS at national level for the introduction of a new speed limit review have left many families living in a Westport housing estate in limbo as there is currently a lack of a safe crossing to the town's Greenway.

Many will be familiar with the Sli na Misean development from the very successful Westport GAA’s raffle to 'Win A House In Westport'. The current crossing has been described as a ‘death trap’ by residents.

Patrick Duffy has been living in the estate for more than seven years and is clear that “the road is definitely dangerous.”

“You've got to have your whits about you, because the cars come out of Westport very fast, around the corner. You have young mothers coming out with buggies, kids on bicycles and so on getting across. They have to really be on the ball to get to watch for a spot time to shoot across the road, so that's quite dangerous,” said Mr Duffy.

Dangerous

ANOTHER resident told The Mayo News that “our own kids cry crossing the road. The cars come speeding around the corner and it’s just so dangerous,”.

The R335 road separates the housing estate from the Greenway and the speed limit outside the estate is currently 80kmh. Residents also note that due to its large width and forward visibility, speeding is common.

They would like to see the speed reduced to 50kmh between the skatepark and Ardmore and a pedestrian crossing should be installed on the R335 road at Sli Na Misean.

Mayo County Council Roads Department says that a pedestrian crossing would only be considered after the nationwide speed review is complete.

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Local councillors have passed the relevant motion to install a pedestrian crossing but they are powerless until the new speed limits are finalised at the national level.

Cllr Peter Flynn told The Mayo News that “the governments are ultimately the ones that are holding this up, because we cannot, as a local authority, progress this until the speed limit is reduced within the urban area. We have passed the appropriate motion. All of the West Mayo councillors agreed that we would extend the speed limit out to the Ardmore Road. But we cannot do that without getting this sign off from the Department of Transport. This was supposed to happen last year. It was supposed to happen this year, and now we're talking about 2026.”

Correspondence

IN correspondence with The Mayo News, the Department of Transport has confirmed that these limits will not be in place until 2026 at the earliest.

In the summer of 2022, a boy was struck by a car crossing the road and is now permanently disabled. This incident highlights the danger of the crossing.

This led to the creation of a new walkway out of the estate but there is still no pedestrian crossing.

Recently, the daughter of one of the residents was nearly involved in a three-car collision when she was waiting to turn into the estate. She narrowly escaped a serious crash.

Separate to the concerns around the speed limits, residents are also frustrated by a delay in completion of the green works in the estate.

Young families living in the Sli na Misean estate in Westport were sold a dream - a housing estate with a playground and safe access to the Greenway.

The reality is unfinished roadways, exposed drainage grates, a soggy green area and no sign of a climbing frame, let alone playground.

Eamon Padden, the developer, is in talks with Mayo County Council and has said he hopes to have the works completed in the estate by October.