DRIVERS’ safety is at risk because of faded road markings which are in urgent need of repainting, councillors have warned.
Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) raised the topic at a West Cork Municipal District meeting and pointed out that white lines, pedestrian crossings and stop or yield signage all needed to be improved.
She said one of the spots most in need of clearly visible road markings was the junction close to Centra in Drimoleague.
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She also highlighted the junction to the causeway at Barleycove.
‘This is extremely dangerous,’ she warned.
‘There are many tourists heading out to the Mizen and they could be crashing out on to the main road without even realising it. It really needs a stop sign.’
Cllr Cronin added that Ballydehob’s only pedestrian crossing had faded almost completely and needed a lick of paint.
She said that parking bays for drivers with disabilities across the region should be repainted to comply with the standard marked blue boxes.
The motion received wide support from councillors including George Gill, Deirdre Kelly, Daniel Sexton and Danny Collins.
Cllr Collins (Ind Ire) suggested that Cork and Kerry county councils should pool resources and work together to improve road markings.
Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) said faded markings was a massive issue and members should draw up a list of locations that need urgent attention.
‘If the line painting machine came to the area for a week or two every six months, then we could submit a list into the local area offices and then they could be addressed accordingly,’ said Cllr Harrington.
He added: ‘Line painting is key, especially now in the summertime when we have so many tourists visiting West Cork and they don't know the roads as good as we do.’
Senior executive engineer John Ahern said line marking is funded under road maintenance and undertaken as resources allow.
‘This year, Cork County Council received an additional Department of Transport funding allocation under the Low-Cost Safety Improvement funding Programme towards the cost of replenishing road marking at junctions. A list of locations is being prepared for consideration and in addition the locations identified in recent correspondence will be added to the list for consideration for inclusion when the schedule of works is being finalised,’ he said.
