Transport authority to fund safety upgrades following pedestrian deaths in Charleville
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Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has said it will fund safety upgrades in a North Cork town’s main street following the recent deaths of two elderly pedestrians there.
TII also said it would provide money to design a relief road to take HGVs out of its town centre.
The news came during a debate in County Hall during which councillors discussed the danger HGVs were posing to elderly pedestrians in Charleville. Eight have died after being hit by trucks while trying to cross its main street in the past 10 years.
The council wrote to TII a week ago requesting it urgently help by providing funding to reduce accidents in the town.
Within hours of doing that, it was confirmed another elderly pedestrian had been killed by a truck — the second such death there in three weeks.
As the N20, which runs through Charleville, is a national road it is the responsibility of TTI.
In the middle of the debate on Monday, council chief executive Tim Lucey said he had received a positive response from TII to the council’s request.
He said the transport authority has agreed to pay for safety upgrades in the main street area, which include pedestrian crossings.
In addition, TII said it would fund the design of an inner relief road, acknowledging a proper bypass of the town will not happen until the upgrade of the main Cork-Limerick road is completed in a number of years’ time.
Charleville-based Fianna Fáil councillor Ian Doyle had got standing orders suspended at the council meeting to discuss the spate of pedestrian deaths when Mr Lucey made the announcement.
Mr Doyle said all pedestrian crossings needed to be upgraded, especially as some do not have push buttons to activate red lights.
He said 15,000 vehicles pass through the main street daily and there are times when 40%-50% of them are HGVs.
It is believed most fatalities have occurred because people cross right under the front of HGVs and drivers cannot see them from their cabs.
Mr Doyle said the council’s County Development Plan has identified the need for a relief road on the eastern side of the town and this needs to be constructed as soon as possible “because we could be waiting 20 years before the new Cork-Limerick road is opened".
Fine Gael councillor John Paul O’Shea and Fianna Fáil councillor Bernard Moynihan said urgent action was key as nobody wants to see another pedestrian killed.