Fresh calls have been made for the installation of “an effective junction improvement” at the Corrovorrin junction on the Tulla Rd.
According to Cllr Johnny Flynn, over 15,000 vehicles are using the Tulla Rd each day. At the February meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, he put forward a motion hoping to put an end to traffic delays endured by residents in the area.
“I refer to previous requests I have made over the last decade on this issue and in light of the growth in traffic now using the Tulla Road resulting in long delays for cars exiting out of Corrovorrin that the members of Ennis Municipal District Committee ask Clare County Council to urgently provide an effective junction improvement at Corrovorrin/Tulla Rd junction”.
Senior Executive Engineer, Eamon O’Dea informed Cllr Flynn that a new junction arrangement was drafted with funding received for the project. However when it was brought forward for public consultation, there was conflict with an existing set down area on the Tulla Rd which was highlighted under Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1994.
For works to be done, a removal or alteration of the existing set down area is required as “there will continue to be a conflict of movements into and out of the set down area with traffic movements at the Kevin Barry Avenue Junction”.
Mr O’Dea said that he will raise this particular location at the next meeting with the Department of Transport Safety Engineer, he is hopeful the new roundabout at Cappahard will reduce traffic delays.
“The new Cappahard Roundabout may assist the traffic flow at this location. The Council will do further traffic counts after the Cappahard Roundabout is in operation and consider putting some trial measures in place to slow the traffic entering Kevin Barry Avenue from the Tulla Road, which may reduce the queuing times for vehicles turning right from Kevin Barry Avenue”.
Cllr Flynn then asked that it be prioritised by the District. He explained that road users at Corrovorrin are a mixture of elderly and young drivers. “There is huge frustration among residents that this junction has not been upgraded”. He stated that it was a piece of road with 15,000 users daily and estimated this worked out at 5 million vehicles per year. The Fine Gael Councillor said he travels the route between six and eight times a day and constantly meets people who are concerned about it, he is keen to see progress in 2017.
Independent Councillor, Ann Norton seconded the bid, she brought the matter up last year and it was put to her on a Christmas visit why nothing was done about it. It needs to be regularly highlighted in her view and she recounted an instance in which she was involved in a crash at the particular location. Norton does not think the Cappahard Roundabout will solve the traffic issue at the Kevin Barry Avenue Junction.
There has been frustration with the junction for several years declared Cllr Mary Howard. “The problem with Corrovorrin is there is only one way in and one way out”. The Fine Gael representative told the meeting that residents were annoyed and suggested a fried egg be placed at the site in question.
“It’s a nightmare in there”, commented Fianna Fáil’s Pat Daly. By his calculations there are two hundred houses in the estate which he depicted that there were one hundred cars coming out of Corrovorrin. Daly referenced the temporary roundabout at Station Rd which he felt “would give people at Corrovorrin a chance to get out of their estate”, his call received support from Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy.
Eamon O’Dea stated there would be no issue with a temporary roundabout anywhere as long as it meets certain criterions. At present the Council are trying to work a system where they may use trials to “slow down people coming in which would allow drivers to get out”. O’Dea conducted a recent small study at the location and discovered that it takes between ninety seconds and two minutes for drivers coming from Corrovorrin to get on to the Tulla Rd, having observed it more than twenty times. He revealed that there is a “general conflict between different parties” and the whole situation is being observed.