‘This is a village, not a racetrack’: Cork community association holds demonstration to highlight concerns over speeding

RESIDENTS in the village of Kerry Pike and its environs held the first of two demonstrations this morning to highlight concerns about speeding in the area, which they say has gotten “progressively worse” in recent times.

The campaign, organised by the Clogheen/Kerry Pike Community Association, is targeted at drivers who are flouting the speed limit.

Clutching signs that read ‘slow please’ and ‘this is a village, not a racetrack’ residents donned hi-vis vests and stationed themselves at various locations in the village of Kerry Pike and at Clogheen near Mackey’s Cross in a bid get motorists to slow their speed.

“I’ve been living in the area about 20 years and it has got progressively worse. Particularly over the last four or five years it’s been very bad,” chairman of the Clogheen/Kerry Pike Community Association, Jim O’Mahony told The Echo.

An increasing volume of houses built in the locality has led to a subsequent rise in traffic levels, Mr O’Mahony said.

“Where I live in Clogheen now, if you’re not out of your gate by 7:45am you may as well wait until about 8:10am because there’s so much traffic coming in.

“Our main focus this morning is to get drivers to slow down, to remind people that this is a residential area and they need to reduce their speed,” he continued.

Kerry Pike resident Iain McGregor, who has lived in the village for the last five years, also spoke of the rise in traffic.

“There’s a hundred and something houses being built out in Tower and there’s a lot of houses being built in Kerry Pike so it’s added to the issue.

“On top of that, the increase of employees in Apple and [Dell] EMC – this has very much become the North Link Road run through this area. It’s just getting busier and busier,” he said.

Appeal for further traffic calming measures

In 2021, Cork City Council installed a new pedestrian crossing in the village which has made a positive difference, Mr McGregor said.

He believes the main onus is on drivers to reassess their behaviour but that additional traffic calming measures for the village would help.

“I think it’s mainly down to drivers, they are driving through the village way too fast. It’s not just cars, it’s vans, lorries, and other large vehicles.

“I think we’ve seen the success from the pedestrian crossing in that it has slowed down vehicles but it’s a very long, linear village. There’s a lot more to the village than just outside the school.

“We think a combination of walkways, pedestrian crossings and drivers becoming a little bit more responsible through the village would make the village a lot more safe.” 

This was echoed by Hansie Lucey who has lived in the village of Kerry Pike for around 50 years and by Áine Murphy, also a resident of the village.

Ms Murphy paid tribute to local Cork city councillors for their help in securing the pedestrian crossing but said that the village needs speed bumps and additional footpaths.

She described the stretches of road in the village with no footpaths as “lethal”.

“We’re like the little lands that time forgot,” she added.

Margaret Walsh, who has lived in Kerry Pike for decades, said the volume of traffic and speeding through the village has been “mad” in recent years.

“We were known as the sleepy valley long ago – but it’s not that way anymore!” 

People don't realise it is a community 

Fianna Fáil councillor for the city’s North West ward John Sheehan said people pass through the village to get to places like Ballincollig, CUH and UCC.

“There’s a huge volume of traffic here in the morning and the evening and the difficulty is a lot of people, unfortunately, don’t realise it’s a residential area and it’s a community and they tend to speed right through it and really the message today is to get people to slow down.

“We understand they have to get to where they’re going but we’re asking people to slow down. This is a residential area, this is a place with families, with children, with elderly people and people should have due regard to that,” he said.

“I had a motion along with other councillors in regarding traffic management here in Kerry Pike and we’ve put in a pedestrian crossing but we need to do more in terms of traffic management but also it’s driver behaviour, unfortunately.” 

Fellow ward councillor, Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent said he and his party colleagues have asked that the council would invite local residents to a meeting to hear their concerns.

“Myself and my colleagues councillor Kenneth Collins, councillor Eolan Ryng, put a motion to council that the residents of the community association be invited to meet the Local Area Committee to discuss concerns about speeding through Kerry Pike village and surrounding areas as well so hopefully that meeting will take place in the near future,” he said.

A second demonstration is set to take place in the area this morning.