Drivers concerned as Ashe Road narrowed
Local people are wondering why the Ashe Road approach to Mullingar narrowed into a bottleneck. One resident we spoke to, John Dolan from Clonmore, has experience of planning access and egress routes and risk assessment, and he is flummoxed by the new road layout.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, John complained that there had been no explanation or warning of the new layout. “Pedestrians don’t know if a pedestrian crossing will be introduced,” he said, adding that with a school in the area, it is essential that pedestrians are able to cross safely.
He said that it was always a safe road with a traffic island to allow safe access to the Raithín estate. He is worried that it will be dangerous for traffic turning into or out of Raithín because of the new layout and the removal of the traffic island.
New kerbs are high enough to prevent cars pulling in if drivers have to make space for emergency vehicles, he fears.
John drives a commercial vehicle and he believes that if he meets another lorry on this stretch of road now, the drivers will have to pull in their mirrors to squeeze past.
“Why close such a lovely road into the town to put in a beauty path?” he asked. He pointed out that driving into the town, you meet this bottleneck and then, as you go past Raithín, the road opens up again into “a fine big road”.
John says the new layout “doesn’t make sense”, and he is anxious to “know the thinking behind it”.
He suspects there might a plan to turn the town into a one-way system and says, “maybe there is a bigger plan, but if so let us know and we can deal with it, just let us know”.
“I measured it and it is the minimum road width,” John said, adding that he fears “someone went a bit wrong with the measuring tape”.
“Was it merely done to suit the beauty of Greville Park?” Are we progressing the town or closing it off, pedestrianizing it, or what?”, he asks.
“We aren’t going to change it, but we need to question it and maybe an explanation.”
Cllr Ken Glynn is also concerned and is “seeking an urgent review of what’s been done there”.
“It’s a built-up residential area and it’s so squeezed,” he said in an interview with the Westmeath Examiner (see page 1).
“I’ve had numerous complaints already and “I’m adamant that this needs to be reviewed, possibly needs to be reverted, and certainly the road needs to be widened,” he said.
“Do we need a big, wide footpath? It makes absolutely no sense to me. I’m disappointed with what has happened and I would be asking the council to urgently review it. Listen to the people who use them every day of the week,” Cllr Glynn said.
County Council
A query submitted to Westmeath County Council late on Friday afternoon has been forwarded to the relevant department and a response is awaited.