Reopening of Cork road welcomed following months of traffic chaos

THE reopening of Cork’s Harbour View Road following works to facilitate the installation of new water infrastructure to serve new housing that is under construction, has been welcomed by local councillors.

Sinn Féin councillors Mick Nugent and Kenneth Collins welcomed the recent reopening of the road to traffic following months of what they described as traffic chaos in the area.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Nugent said the road closures on Harbour View Road were to facilitate ongoing water infrastructure for new housing being built in the area and that the road was partially closed during two phases of works.

“The first phase was the closure of the road at the junction of Baker’s Road and Harbour View Road, which caused an issue for residents in Ascension Heights because a lot of cars were going through there to come back out onto Knocknaheeny Avenue and it was being used as a shortcut,” he said.

“Phase two saw the junction of Baker’s Road and Harbour View Road opened but the road works moved up the road so the section from the junction of Knocknaheeny Avenue up as far as the new housing on Harbour View Road was closed. Residents there could access their homes but it was very awkward. It was a huge relief to get the road fully reopened after work, which took place from June to November.” 

Mr Nugent said that David McCarthy road near Apple had also been closed during that time.

“Just having both closures at the same time was a major issue for residents and people in general who work, live and travel through the area.” 

Mr Nugent called on the City Council to look also at resurfacing other roads nearby that had taken a lot of traffic when both roads were closed.

“The likes of Courtown Drive coming down by the primary school and Kilmore Road were taking a huge amount of traffic.

“There were some really bad traffic jams on some mornings and with children trying to get into the school as well it was a nightmare.” Mr Nugent also called for traffic calming works and footpath works on Harbour View Road that have already been committed to and that are long-awaited by residents, to follow in the near future.

Last November, a preliminary design was carried out for works comprising a mixture of raised tables and traffic light interventions designed to ensure that vehicles using the road travel at the appropriate speed.

Local residents had lobbied extensively for traffic calming measures on Harbour View Road after two high-profile traffic incidents on the road in 2020.

In 2022, the city’s North West ward agreed to allocate €100,000 from that year’s Local Area Committee (LAC) funding to carry out the works on the busy road, in addition to €25,000 allocated from the 2021 LAC funding.