*Cllr John Crowe (FG).
Elected representatives have reiterated their concerns on the amount of speeding traffic driving through Cratloe village.
Notice of motions have been tabled at meetings of the Shannon Municipal District in recent months in relation to speeding in Cratloe. Subsequently, a check on accident history and a speedy survey was carried out on the L3102.
No accidents have been recorded on the database for the road within the village boundary for the available data period, senior engineer Aidan O’Rourke stated. A 50km/h speed limit is on the route and he outlined that speed testing indicated the 85th percentile speed in the vicinity of the school is 48km/h with an average speed of 35km/h. “Extensive school approach warning signs” and road markings on approach to the school are in place, he outlined.
There has also been an upgrade of street lighting and additional lights installed while road markings are due to be refreshed during the 2020 roadworks programme, O’Rourke commented.
Further traffic calming measures were sought by Cllr John Crowe (FG) at a recent meeting of the Shannon MD. He believed the pedestrian crossing “has been a great help” to the area but lamented, “there is an awful lot of speeding going on in the village”. He recalled an incident at the beginning of June on the same road, “I was driving down and a car came out of nowhere and overtook me, it was absolutely crazy the speed of the car that overtook me”. Outside of the pedestrian crossing, Cllr Crowe believed speeding problems were prevalent.
Agreement on the need for additional measures was voiced by Cllr PJ Ryan (IND). “There is a lot of speeding in this area. It is hard to know what can be done to slow the people down”. He outlined, “the speed van was virtually there for 3 or 4 days a week on some occasions but people who choose to speed somehow manage to escape it”.
“I see it everyday first hand,” Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) said of speeding in Cratloe. “It is the main road linking Tulla, Kilkishen and Sixmilebridge with Limerick City, it has a major volume of traffic. It is like a funeral everyday from 4:30pm to 6:30pm with the volume of traffic. Whatever we can do, should be done. People themselves will have to have a change of heart to slow down”.
