by Alan Jacques
EVEN on the most modest of days the traffic in Adare has difficulty moving through the village.
That’s the opinion of independent councillor Emmett O’Brien who has expressed major concerns with respect to pavement rehabilitation, drainage and footpath work on the N21 in the picturesque county Limerick village.
The scheme, which will extend from the R519 Ballingarry Road to the L1422 Blackabbey Road over a distance about 1.3km on the N21, is due to see works commence in the next year. The proposed scheme is being proposed to address inadequacies with the existing road including road pavement and footpaths and inadequate drainage issues leaving the road prone to flooding.
Funding has been approved for the project by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, formerly the National Roads Authority (NRA).
And while road drainage and footpaths are needed between Murphy’s Cross and Adare Town Hall, Emmett O’Brien believes the proposed scheme is prepared in isolation of the overall plan for an Adare Bypass.
“I have been repeatedly approached by businesses and residents in Adare asking to alleviate traffic and to provide adequate parking and signage. These are essential services that need to be addressed in Adare and that are not remotely addressed as part of this plan,” Cllr O’Brien told the Limerick Post.
“Three of the proposed routes bypass Adare and we are none the wiser some six months later as to what route it is. Perhaps if a route was selected the concerns of the residents of Adare over this latest scheme might have been alleviated in circumstances where at least we would have known Adare will be bypassed in a number of years.”
In addition to this, Cllr O’Brien maintains that Limerick City and County Council has failed to present a detailed traffic plan of how to address traffic congestion, which may take up to four months. This, he said, will cause unneeded extra traffic congestion in Adare, which is nationally renowned as a traffic black spot.
“The scheme will divert traffic from the Lantern Lodge through Castleroberts, Beabus, Graigue and to Murphy’s Cross increasing an already high volume of traffic on these byroads and potentially cause a safety hazard for children on these roads.
“€100,000 has already been spent on this scheme and I really wonder has this plan been thought out in its fullness. It has not addressed the most pressing concerns in Adare and in the absence of a combined approach with the Foynes/Limerick route, this plan is going to cause unexpected and unnecessary problems for the people of Adare and users of the N21,” he concluded.
