More funding for road safety needed, says TD, citing issues in East Cork village

Social Democrats TD for Cork East Liam Quaide has called for additional funding to be provided to councils for road safety measures.

He told the Dáil that speed ramps are often the only effective means of slowing traffic down, but in his constituency, they can sometimes take several years to obtain.

A group of residents on the Killeagh Road in the village of Mogeely “have been so frustrated and concerned about their road safety issues that some residents were willing to consider diverting funds from a playground upgrade fund for the village to prioritise traffic calming”, he said, adding that parents with young children “should not have to be considering these trade-offs”.

One resident of the village told The Echo that the speed limit of 50km/h “is completely disregarded”.

“Some houses are so close to the road that the concern is a car or a truck will end up in someone’s front room.

“Or kids on scooters and bikes, if they have a wobble, the cars would have no chance to manoeuvre out of the way because of the speeds they’re doing.”

The residents have been engaging with Gardaí, who have shown a presence in the area as recently as yesterday.

“Anytime they’re there, they have someone pulled in for speeding, and we have seen an improvement,” the resident said.

“I appreciate they can’t be everywhere all the time, but if there is a few weeks with no visible presence, drivers will revert back to their old ways.”