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Cllr ‘hit a walloper' of a pothole

March 16th, 2017 11:50 AM

By Kieran O'Mahony

Potholes at the ‘T' junction at Deerpark. (Photo: Fix Bandon Roads on Facebook)

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Frustrated motorists in Bandon are bombarding councillors with complaints about the condition of the streets in the town, with one councillor even warning that ‘the streets will cave in’ unless the Council do something about it.  

FRUSTRATED motorists in Bandon are bombarding councillors with complaints about the condition of the streets in the town, with one councillor even warning that ‘the streets will cave in’ unless the Council do something about it.

At a meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District in Bandon last Friday descriptions like ‘craters’ and ‘wallopers of potholes’ were used by some councillors to describe the deteriorating conditions of the road surfaces in the town.

Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) said McSwiney Quay, for example, is a ‘disgrace’ even though he was embarrassed to say it.

‘It’s absolutely dreadful and we’re being bombarded by people in Bandon who are ringing and swearing at me with many saying they can’t avoid some of the potholes,’ said Cllr Murphy.

‘We are all embarrassed about the conditions of the streets of Bandon and we are asking for extra funding to look after them.’

Senior executive engineer Charlie McCarthy told the meeting that the town’s main drainage scheme is set to go to tender at the end of March with work to begin in early December and that only temporary repairs could be carried out in the interim.

Cllr Rachel McCarthy (SF) gave a cautious welcome to the news.

‘We’re being absolutely attacked over the condition of the roads in the centre of town and both Cork County Council and local councillors are being blamed for this,’ said Cllr McCarthy.

Mr McCarthy said while no-one in the Council wants to see potholes on the streets of Bandon, he pointed out that they do not have the budget to carry out hot patching and complete repairs when they would be dug up again during the drainage scheme.

Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) said that there’s an ‘acceptable level of repair’ and an ‘unacceptable level of repair’ and it was becoming a real issue in the town.

‘I’m hearing incidences of burst tyres and other problems from people and it reflects poorly on Bandon and it’s really very shabby,’ said Cllr Coughlan.

Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said it was good news the main drainage scheme is going to tender but said the standard of replacement and maintenance on the streets in the town is not good enough.

‘It’s not acceptable the way some of the potholes on the streets are temporarily reinstated and the public and the Council should not accept this,’ said Cllr Coleman.

‘When it comes to the town they need the Council to be on top of any potholes and fix it by whatever means. A pothole on a Monday should not be there on a Friday,’ he said.

Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) said he himself hit ‘a walloper of a pothole’ by the Chapel Steps and said there were several ‘craters and big holes’ on the New Road.

‘We request Charlie to take a decent look at the potholes on all the streets and maybe use a hot patcher instead of cold tar to fix these,’ said Cllr Murphy. 

‘The streets will cave in if we don’t do anything,’ the Cllr added.

Mr McCarthy said they are doing what they can and said North Main Street is a case of maintenance as it will be  dug up during the main drainage scheme. ‘I would love to have the budget to do it all,’ said Mr McCarthy.

Cllr Murphy said that they, as councillors, would support a call for extra funding for street repairs if Mr McCarthy requested it.

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