It’s a ‘miracle’ there hasn’t been a fatality at Wilkinstown accident blackspot

WILKINSTOWN business owners who have witnessed a number of horror smashes outside their premises including a terrifying incident where a car ploughed through a wall and into their front garden are pleading for urgent speed calming measures in the village.

Eimear and Brendan Doughty, owners of Doughty's Mace Filling Station in Wilkinstown have seen their fair share of accidents over the last 18 years that they have been in business. Located on the busy R162 Navan to Kingscourt Road, Eimear says vehicles “fly by” at an alarming speed.

“There has been so many near misses and several accidents right in front of our business and our home and your heart is in your mouth every day. You hear breaks screeching regularly, you hear the horns blaring and you are afraid to look out the window,” she added.

“There have been a few accidents where people entering or exiting our business have collided with passing traffic and a few have even ended up in our front garden.

“I will never forget a man sitting in our garden with his head on the steering wheel, I think we ended up with someone on our couch that day until the ambulance came.

“We never let our kids play in the front garden after that. It's a miracle that nothing critical has happened and we don't want to have to wait until someone is killed for something to be done.”

A petition calling for action to be taken to slow down traffic in the village has been created by concerned residents.

The opening of the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway and the new amenity park and playground have transformed the village but efforts to ensure the safety for those who use them have fallen short according to Tara Smith who says motorists are ignoring speed limit signs and putting lives at risk.

Tara, who started the online petition that has over 300 signatures, believes speed ramps are urgently needed to force traffic to slow down.

“That road has always been dangerous but ever since they carried out work on it and it's a straight stretch now they just tear up and down it,” said Tara. “You have a good stretch there from Tiernan's pub right up to the community centre where you can see the whole road and they just think they can overtake and fly by, it's lethal,” she added.

“The problem is you have the new pedestrian school crossing there and although there might not be a car coming, it's not to say that a child isn't going to step out.

“Meath Co Council has confirmed to me that speed bumps are not in the plan for Wilkinstown.

“You could reduce the speed limit to 5km per hour, they just won't adhere to it, something serious needs to be done to make them slow down.”

Ed Moynihan, chairperson of Navan Cycling Initiative received strong reaction from a video he uploaded on social media of a lorry travelling at high speed past the greenway crossing.

“We contacted Meath Co Council when the greenway was first done in 2022 about the urgent need for traffic calming measures in different locations where the greenway crosses the road,” said Ed.

“There are plans for these measures to be put in at Kilberry and the Gibbstown cross but for some reason nothing has been planned for Wilkinstown,” he added.

“We have highlighted the lack of pedestrian and cycle paths in the village itself linking to local amenities, as well as the urgent need to reduce speeding traffic not just by the greenway crossing, but also a school, a community centre, playground and various amenities,”

“It’s hard to understand how these traffic calming measures were not implemented along with the greenway works. They were part of the plans, and we knew the greenway would be very busy.”

Fine Gael Cllr Eugene Cassidy said plans for safety measures in Wilkinstown are already at an advanced stage.

“I have been in discussions with Meath Co Council and the Roads Policing Unit about appropriate traffic calming measures for the village.

“Funding needs to be secured but I'm confident that it will be approved.”

A spokesperson for Meath Co Council said plans for speed calming measures in Wilkinstown were in the design stage and a time frame for completion could not be confirmed.