City council defends closure of slip road at St Luke's

Cork City Council has defended the closure of a slip road in St Luke’s.

The closure of the left vehicular slip from Middle Glanmire Rd onto Summerhill North is part of the Safe Routes to School programme for St Luke’s National School, along with pedestrian crossings on Ballyhooly Rd, Wellington Rd, and Mahony’s Ave.

A council spokesperson said councillors had relayed complaints from constituents but that vehicles travelling from the Middle Glanmire Rd to Summerhill unimpeded “increases speeds and is an additional potential conflict point between vehicles and children”.

They said: “The removal of this slip road will create a safer walking environment for children and other pedestrians in the area. In general, schemes of this nature require a settling-in period while road users adjust to the new layout, during which some adjustment is expected. Safety of vulnerable road users is the top priority and increased traffic delays can sometimes be an unavoidable outcome of measures designed with safety in mind.

“It is likely that some traffic will naturally redistribute and choose alternative routes,” they said, adding that the scheme is due to be finished prior to the new school term.