Stay is put on Davitt solution for ‘bottleneck’ hospital roundabout

A major roundabout on an approach to Mullingar is not functioning correctly, Cllr Aoife Davitt told officials at the January meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.

She said that in the mornings, vehicles can be backed up as far out as Robinstown because of hold-ups at the roundabout at Mullingar hospital. Her suggestion was that the lanes be demarcated on the approach from Castlepollard: “The lane on the left would service left turn only and the lane to the right would facilitate straight through and right turn,” Cllr Davitt said.

The response from the executive stated that the road markings are in accordance with the Road Traffic Signs Manual, and that the location is included in the area covered by the new transportation study being undertaken by a consultant appointed by the council.

Cllr Davitt rejected the suggestion that the issue be long-fingered until completion of the transportation study: “It would be an easy fix,” she said, adding that it would knock 15 minutes off morning journey times.

Support came from Cllr Emily Wallace, who said Cllr Davitt’s suggestion represented a practical approach: “I use that junction every morning and I cannot imagine the frustration parents feel who are out the Castlepollard Road waiting to come in.”

Cllr Wallace said that she used that junction to come in too town last week, and it took her almost 30 minutes to get from the garage at Robinstown to the roundabout.

“I think it’s worth a try – and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work,” she said.

Support came from Cllr Ken Glynn, who hoped that councillors would not, for the next year, receive in response to their representations, that the issues they raise are part of the traffic study.

“There is a big issue there at that junction,” he said, adding too that the roundabout is so small that it makes it tight for motorists to get through it.

Also in favour of Cllr Davitt’s proposal was Cllr Frank McDermott: “It’s a very simple, very straightforward solution,” he said, adding that the council had enough able and competent people to be able to deal with the issue in a couple of hours.

The mayor, Cllr Hazel Smyth, agreed that the roundabout was a “bottleneck”.

Cllr Andrew Duncan agreed with the points made by Cllr Davitt, and said that the roundabout represented “a real pinch point”: “I don’t see why we can’t look to experiment there,” he said.

District engineer Pat Kavanagh conceded that there is an issue: “The Castlepollard Road is actually the busiest road in Westmeath: it’s busier than the dual carriageway,” he said, going on to reveal that the most recent traffic count conducted at the roundabout showed it to handle 14,000 cars per day.

“It’s a very small roundabout – the smallest on the C-Link around Mullingar,” he stated.

Mr Kavanagh said he has met the transportation consultants, and asked them to prioritise this roundabout, and also the roundabout at McDonald’s and Mount Street.

He was optimistic that they would have traffic counts available by this month or next, “and at least at that stage we can make an educated decision or at least know exactly what we’re doing. I just need to know what volumes are turning left, right or straight so that I don’t do more harm than good on it.”