Ashe Road 'an absolute joke'

The new road layout at Ashe Road, Mullingar, has been described as “an absolute joke” and the mayor of Mullingar, Cllr Ken Glynn, has demanded that it be reversed immediately.

At a meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad last week, Cllr Glynn declared that if the work does not stop immediately and the layout is not reversed, he will call an emergency meeting. He added that there is “no way” he will approve funding for the layout to be extended further into town.

Other members joined in expressing “frustration and disdain” at the “magnitude” of the new footpath/cycleway that is being installed, significantly reducing the width of the road.

Cllr Glynn complained that there had been no consultation with councillors, the local school, residents, or businesses before the works started. He read a letter from the principal of a school in the area expressing concern about safety, complaining that the school had not been informed or consulted before work started, and voicing concerns that the volume of traffic in the locality was going to increase significantly when new housing developments are complete.

Cllr Glynn said he had also been contacted by first responders who wondered ‘what in God’s name is going on’. “If I had known anything about it, no way would I support what is being done,” he stated.

“It’s an absolute disgrace and I am so annoyed that this has happened, that the members weren’t consulted, the principal wasn’t consulted, residents associations weren’t consulted, local businesses weren’t consulted,” Cllr Glynn said. He acknowledged that “this is all to facilitate a planning application that went in, and yes, we want more houses, but we don’t squeeze the living daylights out of the road, that nobody can get in or out of town. It’s an absolute joke and I am asking you members to support my call that this is immediately reversed without fail.”

Seconding the mayor’s proposal, Cllr Mick Dollard said: “I can’t understand why a footpath of this magnitude was put in place.” He demanded that the width be reduced, saying that he could not understand “why the local authority wants to put in a traffic hazard”.

“We need to be bringing the general public with us, not alienating them,” he said, adding that the public are paying property tax and the wages of the council staff and “yet they are not consulted”.

Cllr Aoife Davitt complained that there was no signage when work started. “Traffic was backed up and no one knew what was happening,” she said, adding that she ended up on the wrong side of the road as she navigated the roadworks initially. She wondered why contractors do not have to have the same level of signage as the county council when they are doing roadworks.

When she first came on the roadworks, Cllr Emily Wallace thought: “‘Oh my good God, it’s a piece of work Michael O’Leary would be proud of, if he wanted a runway’. It is ludicrous and unnecessary – it makes no sense, and I can’t see why it can’t be moved back in, straight away.”

Cllr Denis Leonard said: “We have footpaths that are far too wide and roads that are far too narrow.” He said people need to be able to get around Mullingar in an accessible and safe way. “Active Travel means that everyone should be able to move,” he said.

Cllr Julie McCourt reported that larger vans and trucks are clipping their wing mirrors since the road was narrowed. “It must be moved back,” she demanded.

Director of services, Deirdre Reilly, reminded members that the project was approved through a planning process, but accepted that the design may not have been clearly circulated to the members. She said she would “look into that for further projects in our district”.

Ms Reilly said the work was part of an Active Travel planning condition, it was traffic calming, it was reducing the width of the road, thereby reducing the speed, and it was consistent with the works that were done on the C link road. “This type of work has been completed on the Ardmore Road, so when the roadworks are complete, we will what have is there, which I am sure you will agree is a good project,” she said.

Ms Reilly pointed out that works are ongoing at Ashe Road; there are cones, and there are different types of traffic management, and that does lead to confusion. She said there were some errors on the part of the contractor at the outset and traffic management was not up to par, which “the district engineer pulled him up on, and that has improved”.

Regarding the request that works stop and the width of the path be reduced, Ms Reilly said that was not a decision she could make at this meeting, but she assured members that she had listened to what they said and she would speak with her management team, with the senior engineer in transportation, and with the district engineer. She stressed that the layout was similar to the Ardmore Road and suggested that “we should look at it in that respect”.

Ms Reilly apologised on behalf of the contractor for the lack of public consultation with the school and with the residents before work started.

In relation to extending the works towards the town centre, Ms Reilly said it is hoped that would be funded by the National Transport Authority, in keeping with Active Travel.

On hearing the director’s reply, Cllr Glynn formally proposed “that these works are significantly tailed back or reversed”.

“It’s non-negotiable. Listen to the councillors, listen to the people, because there is a huge resistance. People are frustrated. I am frustrated.”

He repeated that if the issue was not resolved, he would call an emergency meeting.

Cllr Dollard told the director that “this is not going to be like the Ardmore Road” and demanded that the footpath be dramatically reduced; “there is absolutely no reason why it has to be so wide”.

Cllr Wallace proposed that work stop until there is agreement one way or the other. “There’s no point wasting money,” she said.

Ms Reilly said that, unfortunately, she could not “make a decision on it today”, but undertook to liaise with Cllr Glynn, having spoken to the technical staff.

“If there are no changes, I will be calling an emergency meeting. We want action! We need action!” Cllr Glynn concluded.

In the official reply to Cllr Glynn’s motion calling for a review of the works, the council confirmed that they were providing a new cycleway, footpath and pedestrian crossing on the Ashe Road, and they are being constructed as part of a planning condition for an adjacent development. Due to the current roadworks, the area is restricted at present – however, the proposed road will be six metres wide when complete and will provide a safe environment for all users, the reply stated.