Anger over ‘gridlock’ in Kilbeggan

Anger is mounting in Kilbeggan over what some locals see as “a ridiculous” new junction at the post office which is causing “gridlock”, and the arrival in town last week of a traffic warden.

The new junction is “not working for local people” and is creating “chaos”, according to some local residents and business people who gathered on Friday evening last at the junction to outline their concerns to the Westmeath Examiner. They want a roundabout system reinstalled and pedestrian traffic lights instead of the pelican crossings.

Fergus Gillic claimed that as part of recent developments, Westmeath County Council changed the junction from “a roundabout that worked to a ridiculous layout of five pedestrian crossings, gridlocking the main street, secondary school exit and the Tullamore road”.

Mr Gillic said it can take up to half an hour for vehicles to clear the junction. “Kilbeggan is a small town which now has a major traffic problem, on a par with Mullingar or Athlone; they have created gridlock in a town where there was no gridlock,” he said.

The “gridlock” is worst at school times because of a constant stream of students crossing the road, and whenever there is a big event on such as Kilbeggan Races or Tullamore Show, the group said. Some reported seeing tailbacks of five kilometres out the Tyrrellspass road, particularly when the motorway is closed due to an accident or for maintenance, and traffic is diverted through the town.

One woman said firemen are “banjoed” if they get a call out at school times. She claimed one fireman had to abandon his car and run to the fire station when he got a call. Likewise, she said, an ambulance would have trouble getting through at rush hour because the kerbs are too high for cars to mount to let them pass.

If emergency services cannot get to the scene of an incident, lives will be lost, warned James Geoghegan, an agricultural contractor.

He said that trying to manoeuvre farm machinery around this narrow junction “is a disaster”.

“The road is six metres wide and our machines are over three metres,” he said.

“It is designed for two cars, no consideration for harvesters, tractors, lorries,” Mr Geoghegan said, adding that “there was never an issue when we had a roundabout and the roads were wider”.

A woman who has been in business in Kilbeggan for decades said “the town is being closed down”. Another said the town centre has been forgotten and much of it is derelict.

She remarked that the aim seemed to be to take heavy goods vehicles out of the town but, as Kilbeggan has two industrial estates and two meat factories, that is not feasible.

Those gathered were incensed that a traffic warden had arrived in Kilbeggan last week and allegedly put tickets on commuters’ cars parked on The Square for longer than three hours. They were angry that while people are being encouraged to take public transport, they are being prevented from doing so because they have nowhere to park.

Aidan Reid complained that an unofficial bus stop on the Tyrrellspass side of the junction had been removed and now the bus, which takes commuters and students to Dublin and Maynooth, has to stop in the middle of the road to let passengers on and off.

There are three main routes converging on the junction, plus a lane from the church. At 5.30pm on Friday, the traffic through the junction was constant. A tractor and long cattle trailer and a large lorry went through within seconds of each other, both having to go over the centre line to navigate the junction.

Some of those gathered had made submissions when the planned layout went to public consultation; however, it was understood that not many submissions had been made and local people did not fully comprehend what was envisaged until it was in place.

Olive Kelly said that now “locally, everyone is talking about it and giving out”.

“We have been complaining,” said Mr Reid, “but we are not being listened to,” added Mr Geoghegan.

“We expect councillors to listen and to bring it up at the council,” said Mr Gillic.

A proposal from Ms Kelly that the roundabout be reinstated and the three pelican crossings replaced with pedestrian push button lights was approved by those present.

When contacted by the Westmeath Examiner, local councillor and cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Liam McDaniel, said he had raised the issue at Municipal District meetings more than once since the project began.

He understood that a small number of submissions had been made when the project went to public and online consultation, ahead of its commencement.

Cllr McDaniel accepted that there were delays at school drop-off and collection times at the junction, and said the council had agreed to monitor the traffic flow situation when the project is completed.

“I fully accept that traffic calming and safe pedestrian/cycle passage to and from school for all students is paramount. Also, while traffic needs to be slowed down, it should not grind to a halt for long periods,” Cllr McDaniel said. He said the traffic was not an issue on doorsteps in the parts of Kilbeggan he had canvassed to date.