INDEPENDENT councillor Maria Donoghue says that the Rosbrien and Punches Cross areas of the city have become so congested that residents can no longer get out of their driveways.
Cllr Donoghue proposed at October’s Metropolitan District meeting that Junction 1 of the M20 be revised to include a direct route into the city centre at Roxborough to reduce congestion at Greenfields Road and the junction with the Childers Road.
She put the motion forward, she said, as the issue was brought up with the local authority “a number of times” and claimed that residents’ “quality of life” is being affected.
“The Rosbrien Road, particularly the Childers Road and Punches Cross areas, have become so congested it’s not workable as a road for the locals,” she told the Council executive.
“Rosbrien Road has over 100 households directly accessed off it. That’s 100 households that have driveways opening onto the road. They cannot get into their driveways.”
Cllr Donoghue said this is also an issue for schoolchildren who have to contend with hundreds of cars queuing from Childers Road in the mornings.
“This isn’t even taking into account the Ballinacurra Gardens estate, where you have hundreds of people living, and when you include Greenfields and Roundwood, you are talking about a few thousand people living along this road,” she said.
“This is effectively one of the main feeders into the centre that serves Mary I, the Dock Road, and the city centre.”
She described the road network as “fragile”, saying that “when there’s a car crash at the turn off for Raheen when the road is blocked, you could be two hours trying to get into town”.
The Council said it is national and local authority policy to protect the capacity of the national road network and associated junctions.
Brian Kennedy, of the Council’s Transportation and Mobility Directorate, explained that the request to redesign Junction 1 of the M20 to include a direct route into the city centre is under review.
The Council, he said, is also exploring other potential route options to improve accessibility and connectivity to the south side of the city.
