by Kathy Masterson
LIMERICK City and County Council has refused a request to carry out a survey of traffic flow on the Dock Road as officials believe that delays there are not excessive.
Sinn Féin councillor Malachy McCreesh called for the traffic study to “determine the reason for the recent congestion that is occurring as the traffic approaches the roundabouts for the main routes out of the city”
He told this month’s meeting of the Metropolitan District that the roundabout leading to Limerick Greyhound Stadium is “getting very congested. It seems to be a recent thing that people have noticed in the last year”.
Vincent Murray, acting director of services, said that the traffic department carried out an extensive survey of traffic on the Dock Road in May and found that the queues, of eight to nine minutes on average at peak times, were not excessive.
After the meeting, Cllr McCreesh said he was not satisfied that traffic delays were at an acceptable level.
“I thank the Council staff for the preliminary survey but question their conclusion that there is not excessive queuing for traffic along the Dock Road. The average figures of nine minutes to travel into the city in the mornings and eight minutes to return via the Dock Road in the evenings does not correspond with the experiences of local motorists.
“A more comprehensive survey is required as there is general anticipation that traffic delays will get worse when the new schools at Mungret College are developed.”
