N52 junction 'a concern for residents, especially at night'

At the March meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad, Cllr John Shaw asked that the district liaise with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to review the junction on the N52 to Reynella.

Stating that he was reluctant to criticise any aspect of the N52, Cllr Shaw said he had, nonetheless, received representations from people living off the road, particularly in Clondrisse and Fennor as well as Reynella, stating that there are no “islands” – and often no lighting either – for motorists turning off at various junctions along the N52.

“It is a concern for residents, especially at night,” he said.

Cllr Frank McDermott said that he too had received “a good number” of representations on the same issue.

“A number of them have said they were overtaken on the inside, and there they were stuck with a car going either side of them,” he said.

Support came too from Cllr Bill Collentine and from the mayor, Cllr Aoife Davitt.

The response from the district was that the junction layout of the L5620 at Reynella was designed in accordance with TII’s Geometric Design of Junctions policy.

It stated that the predicted average daily traffic flows on the major road (N52) were in the order of 5,100, and on the minor road (Reynella L-5620) of 116. To justify a ghost island, those figures would need to be in the order of 5,000-10,000 on the major road and 350-3,000 on the minor road, and therefore the most appropriate junction type was a simple priority junction, as constructed.

“It should also be noted that the design has been subjected to the required stages of a Road Safety Audit which hasn’t highlighted any issues regarding this junction layout,” the reply concluded.

Riverstown

At the same meeting, Cllr Shaw asked that the district carry out repairs to the bridge at Riverstown, close to the St Camillus Centre, Killucan. To this the reply was that the work is included in the 2022 Bridge Rehabilitation Programme.