Campaign to resolve N80 safety concerns 

“HIGHLY productive” is how Kilbride residents have described a recent road safety meeting.

Around 40 locals met elected members of Tullow Municipal District, deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor and election hopeful Catherine Callaghan. The group gathered at Kilbride Cross to observe traffic flow, before proceeding to the GAA hall to discuss their road safety concerns. 

Chairperson Jerry O’Toole says the community have been highlighting issues for decades. There have been a number of fatalities and while road improvements have been implemented on either side of Kilbride, no significant progress has been made.

Issues such as poor visibility, reckless driving behaviour, failure to comply with signage and the volume of traffic were discussed.

Local councillors noted that many of these fall under the remit of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). To date, the group has struggled to establish meaningful contact with TII. 

Deputy Murnane O’Connor committed to raising issues with TII and pursuing parliamentary questions when the government reconvenes in September. However, she cautioned that this is a long-term process, citing examples such as Shirley’s bends, where fast-tracked projects still take years to complete.

Given the lengthy timelines for solutions, residents proposed a number of immediate actions, including replacing walls at Kilbride GAA with stepped-back fencing, the erection of bollards approaching junctions, the extension of solid road lines to cover a greater distance and the removal of hedgerows to improve visibility.

Councillors agreed that most of these measures fall within the purview of Carlow County Council and decided to schedule a meeting with the senior engineer to see how works can be advanced.