TRAFFIC congestion on Childers Road was a cause of much frustration for councillors at January’s Metropolitan District meeting.
Fianna Fáil councillor Catherine Slattery called on the Council’s Road Engineers to come up with a solution to alleviate gridlock on Childers Road from the Tipperary Roundabout.
She deemed it “ridiculous” that traffic is backed up every weekend in this area considering the money being spent on Active Travel locally.
“On some occasions it is backed up onto the Kilmallock Roundabout and beyond. In my opinion, when cars are coming onto the Tipperary Roundabout two lanes are needed,” Cllr Slattery suggested.
“What is currently in place is one lane that then splits into two lanes, which is crazy as the lane heading into the Childers Road Retail Park sees the cars spilling into the lane heading to the Parkway. Cars cannot pass and this is one of the reasons for the congestion,” she added.
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The City East representative also called on the Council to contact the owners of the retail park with a view to opening up a second entrance on Childers Road.
“We cannot have traffic backed up every weekend when there are solutions to alleviate the issue. We also need a pedestrian crossing off or near the Tipperary Roundabout.”
Fine Gael councillor Peter Doyle supported Cllr Slattery’s motion., describing the traffic bottleneck on the Tipperary Road as “chaotic”.
“There is land and there is room for a second lane. The congestion is particularly bad in the month of December. It’s a disaster, but it’s just that you have a very narrow road with huge volumes of traffic,” Cllr Doyle said.
Cllr Sarah Kiely (FG) also saw the merit in what was being proposed by Cllr Slattery, adding that there was no pedestrian crossings on the same stretch of road.
“Active Travel have spent an awful lot of money in the city, some controversial and some very well merited. The pedestrian crossing issue on the roundabouts is something I’ve raised before. It has to be looked at,” she said.
Cllr Kiely said there are “new residents on the Ballysimon Road” and “lots of women and children trying to cross these roads. We need to evaluate what’s happening”.
Cllr Ursula Gavan told Council members that the issue on Childers Road has been going on for years, and not just at Christmas.
“I was there last Sunday at six o’clock. It was absolute bedlam trying to get in and out. I do think an overall traffic management plan is needed for that area. From Northern Trust into the Parkway is utter carnage,” she said.
In response, Head of Strategy Delivery for the Council’s Transportation and Mobility Directorate, Hugh McGrath was of the opinion that traffic in the area around Childers Road between the Parkway and Tipperary roundabouts will be impacted by a number of initiatives which are now close to delivery.
“While Limerick City and County Council is well advanced on progressing a Transport Plan for the city centre, a review will be also required for all transport modes in the Childers Road area to make necessary provision for the improved transport initiatives underway and planned,” he concluded.
