Access issues at Red Strand make it an ‘accident waiting to happen’

A COUNCILLOR has called on Cork County Council to implement a number  of safety measures at Red Strand, which she says suffers severe congestion during the summer months with cars parked on both side of the roads.

Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre Kelly told The Southern Star that access for emergency vehicles could be impeded in the event of an emergency due to the manner in which cars are parked there.

‘When you drive towards the beach you can be travelling on a road which is impeded by a continuous row of parked cars. This extends as far as the eye can see from the Rathbarry side and as far as a very bad corner from the other side,’ said Cllr Kelly.

‘When travelling from the Rathbarry side there is a seven foot drop on the left hand side which comes into focus when vehicles are pulling into the verges to get by and this is an accident waiting to  happen,’ said Cllr Kelly.

Cllr Kelly also said that the entrance to the beach isn’t signposted which means that cars are parking there indiscriminately.

‘This does not allow for unimpeded access in the event of an emergency. The pier wall is badly eroded and this is impacted by the lack of large stones to break the impact of sea water.’

Cllr Kelly said that while residents are delighted to be included in the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) they are, however, fearful for access and exit routes in the event of an emergency.

‘Emergency services found it extremely difficult to reach a child who fell at the beach recently. A doctor arrived but really struggled to get through the road due to parked cars and when he got to the entrance, it was blocked with more cars. Thankfully, the child recovered but it highlighted the need for better traffic management at the beach.’

She said that there are residents living close to the beach too who have medical issues so it is imperative that an ambulance can gain access at all times.

Cllr Kelly suggests that continuous yellow lines would help with the parking situation and that extra rocks should be installed to combat the erosion.