Three collisions in two months, a traffic system that is badly understood and misused, motorists ‘breaking’ lights at one of Mullingar town’s most frequently used locations, have made the Green Bridge Junction the most hazardous in town and in need of urgent review.
This was the strong opinion of locally elected representatives at a meeting on Monday in Mullingar, following another collision on Friday, and Gardai have confirmed for Topic that problems at the Green Bridge continue to crop up, and some road users become confused, and others cause problems by being “amber gamblers”.
The biggest problems arise from traffic being held up in Dominick Street, causing tailbacks; by motorists from the Green Road side going through after lights change colour, and turning for the Railway Station as traffic is emerging, and particularly, by non-local drivers, going towards Green Road, who turn left at the Bridge, but then stop, on not seeing a green light, and block other emerging traffic. Yet another problem is caused by the lack of a wall sign close to the lights on Railway Road, advising motorists they must be on the “pad” area near the lights, before they will activate the “green” light. Motorists regularly have to leave their cars to ask the lead vehicle to move up further.
Raising the matter at the January meeting of Mullingar Municipal District on 9 January, Cllrs. Ken Glynn and Bill Collentine spoke of the risks posed at the junction and said that a review of the system there is needed “with the greatest urgency.”
Both councillors tabled motions on the matter, returning to an issue that has been raised for decades but without any satisfactory resolution.
“This has been brought up here for nearly thirty years now and we are still trying to fix it. If I could avoid it, I would. It’s a nightmare,’ said Cllr Glynn of the junction.
The Fianna Fáil councillor spoke of repeated rule breaking by motorists using the junction, particularly at peak times such as mornings.
“If we could ask the Gardai to have a presence there one or two mornings, it might encourage drivers to follow the rules a bit more. Just before 9am, parents are trying to get children to school, to get to work and are tempted to takes risks,” he said.
Also tabling his concerns about the bridge, Cllr. Bill Collentine said that there was an accident there on Friday last when two cars collided, this being the second in two months. A previous collision happened just weeks ago,involving a lorry and a car.
“For one thing, the ‘right turn’ signal needs to be working. People are confused. It’s alright for those of us who are local but anyone not knowing the area, they see a red light and stop, holding up traffic. As drivers, we are always told not to go against a red light,’ Cllr. Collentine said.
NO SOLUTION PROSPECTS
While sympathetic to the issue and aware of problems at the bridge, Martin Murray, the Director of Services with Westmeath County Council could offer no prospect of an immediate solution.
He said that the historic junction was constrained by geography and by the fact that it spans the Canal and the Railway Line.
“It is constantly being evaluated and is currently being looked at under the urban regeneration,” Mr. Murray assured the chamber.
Cllr. Glynn asked if there was an update from this evaluation and if it would be possible to consider changes to the signalling system at the junction.
Although signalling has been altered twice before, the improvements to the flow of traffic on the bridge are not to be seen.
Cllr. Sorca Clarke, in supporting the motions said that in reviewing the junction, the position of the line on the exit from the railway station side needs to be moved back.
“It is not easy for buses turning there. If a bus gets stuck, then all of Dominick Street is blocked,” Cllr. Clarke told Mr. Murray
Cllr. Glynn asked if he could have a commitment from the Executive that they would contact the Gardai and ask for a presence there a few mornings in the week.
Mr. Murray concurred and restated that the difficulties at the junction are tied to problems with its physical layout and location and an update would be provided after engineers have completed their evaluation under the urban regeneration scheme.
