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Safety barriers are needed on a ‘lethal' stretch of road – Cllr

June 15th, 2018 10:05 PM

By Kieran O'Mahony

Cllr Alan Coleman standing on the section of road which has fallen away into the forest.

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A driver who had a narrow escape while driving on the R605 at Shippool between Innishannon and Kinsale has called on the County Council to install safety barriers at a dangerous stretch before a fatal accident occurs there.

 

A DRIVER who had a narrow escape while driving on the R605 at Shippool between Innishannon and Kinsale has called on the County Council to install safety barriers at a dangerous stretch before a fatal accident occurs there.

Such are her concerns that Collette Gallagher has started up a petition and collected signatures from friends and locals in Innishannon who also feel that the road needs protective barriers.

‘It’s a death trap and an accident waiting to happen as I had a near miss recently when my back wheel slipped onto the embankment and I had to pull my car to the right to avoid going down it,’ Colette told The Southern Star.

‘There’s nothing there to protect a vehicle from going over the edge. It’s extremely dangerous and more so since Storm Ophelia after trees were knocked there. It could end up being like a mudslide as the yellow line on the edge has split and that’s about to go, too.’

 ‘It’s not that the whole road has to be looked at, it’s just that section which is lethal and if you don’t know the road, then it could be fatal. I rang the Council about this and was annoyed that no-one got back to me on this. I feel I was completely ignored.’

Colette handed her petition, which had over 100 signatures, to Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) who raised the issue at a recent meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District.

He pointed out that safety barriers are needed along this straight stretch of road, as there is no protection from cars falling over the edge.

‘During the recent storms a number of trees fell as well as an ESB pole, and it’s more exposed now than before. People feel that it’s just not safe,’ said Cllr Coleman.

‘It should be something that the Council should look at. I do realise that there is little ground there to hold such barriers, so it would require substantial funding for one to be put in place.’

Senior executive engineer Charlie McCarthy said that the standard of a crash barrier has to be exact and it wasn’t a case of just putting one in there.

‘It needs earthworks and it a major job, and we definitely will raise it,’ said Mr McCarthy.

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