Injuries on road in this Kildare region highlighted

Three separate injury incidents which occurred at a pedestrian crossing in North Kildare were brought to Kildare County Council’s (KCC) attention by a local councillor.

Independent Cllr Pádraig McEvoy raised the matter at the latest Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting, which was held on Friday, May 2 last.

Cllr McEvoy motioned for KCC to "examines options for creating a controlled pedestrian crossing on R407 Kilcock Road, Clane, near the junction with Main Street, given the vehicular movements and impending completion of the Clane Inner Relief Road".

His motion was seconded by Fine Gael Cllr William Durkan.

Speaking further about his motion, Cllr McEvoy told KCC that he was aware of three incidents in which people were injured in this region.

For the first incident, a person had their leg broken, and in the second, a person had their skull cracked. However, he added that he did not know the exact details of the third incident.

Independent Cllr Pádraig McEvoy. File photograph

Cllr McEvoy then urged KCC to progress the matter as quickly as possible.

Following this, Cllr Durkan told KCC: "It would be great to get a clear plan with costings [on this matter]."

Another Fine Gael Cllr, Brendan Wyse, also voiced support for Cllr McEvoy’s motion, and said that finding a solution to this matter "would be a top priority" for him.

In addition, Fine Gael Cllr Tim Durkan voiced support for the motion, and told KCC that motorists had to take a "gamble" whenever they were driving in this region.

He also asked KCC if short-term road markers could be implemented in order to highlight to motorists who exactly has priority in the area.

An engineer for KCC, Cyril Buggie, saidthat he would bring the councillors’ comments to another KCC engineer, Donal Hodgins.

Mr Buggie also said that an assessment was due to take place in this area in the near future.

In response to his motion, KCC told Cllr McEvoy via its report at the meeting: "Given the completion of the Clane Inner Relief Road and the predicted reassignment of some traffic movements, it is timely to consider what options are available to address the concerns of pedestrians at this location."

"Whilst this location does not fall within the current portfolio of funding from the National Transport Authority, an initial screening exercise can be considered, when resources permit, to determine the scope of a potential solution to the issues raised," KCC added.

READ NEXT: 'Near misses' in Clane brought to Kildare County Council’s attention