Cllrs call for measures to tackle speeding in Carlanstown

The dangerous speeds at which traffic drives through Carlanstown village on the N52 was highlighted at a meeting of the Kells Municipal Council last week.

A call for traffic calming measures at the access points to the village was made by Cllr Sean Drew who expressed concern at the speed of traffic through the village.

He called on the council to liaise with Transport Infrastructure Ireland as a matter of urgency to design and implement traffic calming measures on the N52, including a new pedestrian crossing on the N52 in the centre of the village.

"This is being brought up all the time. There is planning permission for new estates on the Ardee side and already there are so many more people living in the village.

"When traffic coming from the Ardee side gets near the village, it is the first chance they have to overtake in a while and they start to speed up.

“It was a very small village but now you have houses and shops on either side and no way of crossing the street. I am concerned that nothing will be done until we have an overall plan in place but this problem needs to be sorted now," he said.

Cllr Michael Gallagher said that peoples lives are being put in danger every day. "There is a tendency to overtake as people approach the village."

Cllr Eugene Cassidy said the bridge on the Kells side tends "to slow things down, but something is physically needed on the Ardee side to slow the traffic down."

Councillors were told that TII carry out analysis of collisions on the national road network on a regular basis to identify high collision locations and also carry out Road Safety Inspections as a proactive approach to improving safety on the existing national road network. Funding for safety improvement schemes on the national road network is generally prioritised based on the results of these assessments.

The council will contact TII to discuss potential improvements to the N52 in Carlanstown. In May this year, the council made an application to TII for seed funding to look at active travel improvements within Carlanstown and a decision is still awaited in relation to this application.

Senior engineer Nicholas Whyatt said it is on the radar. "It requires a feasibility and options report that we complete and submit to TII and they agree or not and give us funding," he said.