'Too many near misses' - Still no budget for average speed cameras in Kilmacrennan
Cllr Michael McBride previously called for Kilmacrennan to be prioritised for average speed cameras, warning in January that it was 'only a matter of time' before a fatality occurred
Concerns are mounting over traffic safety in Kilmacrennan after councillors were told there is no budget for average speed cameras in the village.
Cllr Michael McBride previously called for Kilmacrennan to be prioritised for average speed cameras, warning in January that it was “only a matter of time” before a fatality occurred.
Kilmacrennan, which lies on the main N56 route, has two junctions that have been the scene of numerous accidents over the years. At May's meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, Cllr McBride raised the village issues again, commenting: "It’s a miracle that nobody has been killed in a car accident on that street."
Cllr McBride told the meeting that a letter had been sent to Garda Headquarters seeking progress on the speed camera request.
He said the response indicated that there is no budget at present, that gardaí select locations for average speed cameras, and that no new locations are currently being considered.
An average speed camera tracks how long it takes to travel between two set points on a road and uses this information to calculate a vehicle's average speed.
“This problem has gone on for a long time,” Cllr McBride said. “We have got to the stage now where we are going to have to take direct action to get some remediation.”
Cllr McBride said locals have suggested measures such as speed traffic lights and ramps, but that a workshop is now needed to get councillors, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), council engineers and local residents around the table.
“The volume of traffic is huge and the speed is constantly being highlighted to me,” Cllr McBride said.
“Cameras catch people after they commit an offence. I want to stop people before they come speeding into the village.”
Senior Roads Engineer David McIlwaine said the issue will be reported to TII by the council through the National Roads Design Office. He said Kilmacrennan is a difficult location because of the gradient of the hill, the junction, vision lines and nearby properties.
Mayor of Letterkenny-Milford Ciaran Brogan said he had discussed the issue in Dublin with TII, but added: “We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with it. There have been far too many near misses,” he said.
Cllr Declan Meehan said TII appeared to rely heavily on reported accident data. He said the junction is so bad that near misses are no longer being reported because people are used to them and "fatigued" by the issue.