CALLS have been made for improved signage highlighting the traffic restrictions to heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) on Blarney Street.

Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins, himself a professional driver, said he has long being campaigning for improved signage following incidents of vehicles getting stuck on the narrow street and causing long tailbacks.

Mr Collins said drivers unfamiliar with the local roads are “following the sat nav and the sat nav is bringing them down Blarney Street”.

“There’s articulated lorries driving down Blarney Street and getting stuck and taking maybe over an hour to reverse back all the way up.

“The signs that are there to prevent trucks going down aren’t adequate.

“There needs to be an large electronic sign to say ‘no HGVs’.

“Similarly down Sunday’s Well, down in Shanakiel, you have big articulated lorries taking these [routes] as shortcuts as well as the sat nav bringing drivers down and it’s quite tight down there as well,” he said.

Mr Collins said there is an electronic sign not in use at Clogheen Business Park and he is calling for this to be relocated to the Calvary Cross at the top of Blarney Street.

His party colleague, councillor Mick Nugent also echoed calls for improved signage advising of the restrictions to HGV traffic.

“The council has committed to looking at a strategy addressing HGV traffic across the city, but we’ve stressed that, in the short term, the issue of HGVs going down Blarney Road onto Blarney Street needs to be looked at,” he said.

FEASIBILITY STUDY

Last month, Cork City Council told The Echo that it has secured funding from the National Transport Authority to carry out a feasibility study on Blarney Street to look at issues such as localised traffic, through traffic and parking following calls from the local community association for a one-way system to be trialled.

Chairman of Blarney Street and Surrounding Areas Community Association, Tom Coleman said he hoped this study would look at ways of preventing HGV traffic entering the street.

Mr Coleman said such traffic on the road is a “disaster”.

“There are containers constantly coming down from the Clogheen side,” he said, stating that on some occasions gardaí have had to assist with traffic management when vehicles get stuck.