Calls for safety work at two Longford junctions following serious crashes

​Councillors Paul Ross and Pat O’Toole have raised concerns about two treacherously dangerous roads in the Ballymahon region where multiple incidents, including a fatality, have occurred in recent times.

In a joint motion, the councillors called on Longford County Council and the National Transport Authority to provide a traffic calming measure, namely a ramp, on the R392 Mullingar approach road at the Hill Ballymahon before the junction with the Creevaghbeg Road.

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In their motion, the councillors pointed out that this particular stretch of road had been the scene of many accidents down through the years, the most recent of which “saw a motorist lose his life at the end of March.”

The two North Longford based councillors also voiced concerns over a stretch of road on the R392 Mullingar Road into Ballymahon, specifically at the water tower where there have been several accidents in recent years.

In their motion, they asked the council “to examine all options of traffic calming and to apply for a low-cost safety scheme on the R392 Mullingar Road into Ballymahon at the water tower,” noting that these measures “should prevent motorists from crashing and leave the footpath safer for pedestrians.”

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Addressing the MD meeting, Cllr Paul Ross emphasised the need for safety measures in Ballymahon and recalled how another crash – during which a house was hit – had occurred in town just a few weeks earlier. He said this was not the first time this had happened and stressed that something needed to be done on order to help prevent further traffic incidents.

In response to the motions, Senior Executive Engineer, Brian McNeela, said Longford County Council would consider the request in accordance with the council’s Traffic Calming policy. He added that the traffic speeds of both roads would be monitored and in the event of a speed issue being confirmed, then the council would consider appropriate traffic calming measures and will consider this location for future low cost safety scheme funding. The speed survey was currently ongoing at the time of the meeting.

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Speaking following the meeting, Councillor Pat O’Toole told the Longford Leader that measures were required at the Creevaghbeg Road/Mullingar Road junction due to a number of serious accidents in the area.

He explained, "In relation to the Creevaghbeg Road/Mullingar Road Junction where we've had a few very serious accidents, and in recent times, unfortunately, a fatality at that junction as well, my motion was to put traffic calming measures on the approach to that particular junction. I know speed is an issue everywhere, but at least if we can calm the traffic down in terms of speed, we might make it a lot safer. I'm thinking maybe a ramp or something that would be regarded as a very good traffic camming measure."

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme