People living in
Porthaw will have to give up land if a footpath is
to be provided on the Military Road, the local Council
has been told.
The Porthaw Residents' Committee last month asked
councillors for a pavement to increase safety for
pedestrians and to facilitate the passage of a young
resident who is blind.
They also asked for traffic calming to prevent
joyriding and speeding which they said was a
recurring problem in the area.
Buncrana Town Engineer Donna McDermott reported back
on the matter to the monthly meeting on Wednesday
evening.
She said 'Slow' signage would be erected on the road
shortly while a red-coloured surface dressing,
alerting traffic to slow down, would also be in
place by the end of July 'weather-allowing'.
But Ms. McDermott rejected the residents' request
for traffic calming measures.
"The road is not suitable for traffic calming as it
would impede the emergency response personnel based
at the bottom of the road," she said. The RNLI base
is located at the foot of the Military Road, at
Ned's Point.
Buncrana Town Mayor, Cllr. Joe Doherty asked whether
speed cushions would delay the RNLI crew
significantly in an emergency.
Ms.McDermott replied that the cushions would create
hazards in an emergency. "Emergency personnel have
to respond in a hurry and there is a danger they
would hit a cushion and have an accident."
Cllr. Nicholas Crossan said a footpath was the only
solution for the safety of the young blind resident.
Ms. McDermott said that the minimum acceptable width
under the legislation for a footpath was 1.5metres
or around 5ft. She said this would necessitate the
acquisition of land from the people living along the
road.
"You would be going into people's gardens," she
said. Cllr. Doherty asked whether there wasn't
sufficient land within the ditches to facilitate a
footpath. The town engineer said there were also
environmental impediments, given that the Military
Road falls within a Special Area of Conservation
(SAC) and, as such, was a habitat for many forms of
wildlife.
Cllr. Dermot McLaughlin, a wildlife conservationist,
agreed saying SACs were afforded much protection
under EU directives.
Town manager, Liam Kelly reiterated that the surface
dressing would be in place on the Military Road by
the end of July and that the engineer would prepare
a report for the next meeting on the other
outstanding issues including the footpath and speed
ramps. |
