One of Castleisland’s oldest streets has come under considerable traffic pressure in recent years.
Now Barrack Street is to be examined by a Kerry County Council roads design team to see what effective traffic calming measures best suits the area.
It served as the old road to Cork and locals say that the great liberator himself, Daniel O’Connell would have crossed the little bridge over the River Maine many times in both directions in his travels.
‘New Line’ Took Over
The road out through Church Street took over the Cork traffic under the road building campaign of engineer, Richard Griffith in the late 1820s. And Church Street is still often referred to as ‘The New Line.’
Cllr. Bobby O’Connell recently asked Kerry County Council engineer, Breda Mulryan to meet with a representative group of Barrack Street residents.
This she did on Wednesday and she got the views of the locals on a range of concerning issues for them.
Fears and Feelings
Retired Garda, Jim Lordan summed up the fears and feelings of the residents there when he said that many of the people living along the street are not as fleet of foot as they once were. Mr. Lordan also said that the speed and volume of traffic now using the street has increased the danger levels for residents.
“Even crossing the street there is becoming an ordeal at present for a lot of the residents,” he said.
Road markings, including parking restriction lines, have been laid down recently. However, the resident feel the need for measures that will slow down the through traffic now using their once quiet street.
Three Busy Stores
The increase in traffic there is mainly due to the fact that it leads to and from three busy stores: Garvey’s SuperValu; Aldi and Browne’s Agri.
Barrack Street can also be used to get to Tangney’s Funeral Home; the local parish church, St. Joseph’s Presentation Girls’ Secondary School and Castleisland Community College.
“The next step is for the council’s road design team to take a look at the street and put something in place that can’t be ignored by drivers. Road markings are fine and necessary but we need to have something that makes it easier for the residents to cross the street and to take the worry out of it,” said Cllr. O’Connell.
To be continued….
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