Huge opposition in Mayo town to planned traffic flow change

A proposal by Mayo County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to change the traffic-flow system in Foxford will put the lives of schoolchildren in danger, according to a local councillor.

A public meeting was held in the town on June 2nd to discuss proposed route changes as part of a traffic calming plan, with over 100 people in attendance. The matter was then raised at the meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District on Wednesday by Foxford-based councillor Neil Cruise who said locals had requested a public consultation but "that was declined by the Roads Design Office and others in the council".

Describing the situation as “an emergency” and “an acute problem that must be looked at immediately”, Cllr Cruise continued: “There is a proposal to quench the right-hand turn at Main Street, where the N58 (on the Castlebar side) ends, that leads out on to the N26 Swinford Road. Traffic will instead have to continue along the Main Street onto Providence Road and if you want to turn right then at that junction, you will be passing Hope House, Foxford Woollen Mills, St Joseph's Secondary School and several elderly residents’ homes, as well as a lot of traffic travelling from the Sports Centre, Mayo North East, Moy Davitts and Straide and Foxford United's grounds. This means traffic will be moved from a national secondary road onto local roads, so this plan is advocating for a good volume of traffic to come all the way down main street and on to two local roads, rather than being able to turn right onto the N26.” 

Cllr Cruise told council officials: "I implore you to look seriously at this. The pedestrian crossing [in the town] is already an accident waiting to happen, and this is that times ten. This proposal will endanger the lives of a lot of young people. There is pick-up and drop-off to school and kids crossing the road at least nine times in the day going to the four different campuses, and there are no pedestrian crossings on the two local roads."

He said locals had already made 38 submissions to the council in relation to the matter and he suggested that the municipal district should lodge its own submission, opposing the proposed change. 

"[This] has been given the green light by TII and I find it unbelievable a national organisation with responsibility for roads would encourage traffic to go through town, thus endangering vulnerable users of the road, young and old, when they want to turn right out of town via a national road.” 

Head of the district Padraig Flanagan told Cllr Cruise it would be unprecedented for the council to "make a submission to itself".

"Our area engineer is here at this meeting now and the process is to get submissions, and I imagine there will be serious consideration of these, but the council will be making no submission to itself.”

Cllr Cruise retorted: “We are dealing with an outside entity and TII always seem to hold the cards. If we make no submission we are missing a trick.” 

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.