Thursday, 4th


May 2017


info@eastcorkjournal.ie Traffic Chaos Set To Continue For Ballycotton Residents


by SEAMUS WHELEHAN


The cost of providing a


new road to alleviate traffic congestion in an East Cork tourist village has been la- belled too prohibitive by Cork County Council. Last month a deputation


from Ballycotton pleaded with the local authority to provide an answer to con- tinuous grid lock in their village. Stephen Belton from the Ballycotton Development


Company told the April


sitting of the East Cork Mu- nicipality, come tourist sea- son many residents find it difficult to leave their homes due to major traffic conges- tion. The hotelier told the sit-


ting an Garda Siochana had suggested the construction of a 1.29km ring road to the south linking to the cliff road and the development of a number of car parks and further parking controls were required to alleviate the situation.


The R629 regional


road, the main access route through the village is regu- larly gridlocked with cars parking on both sides of the narrow street. Sections of the thorough-


fare have no footpath mean- ing pedestrians are dicing with death, with increasing levels of traffic on the road. While there are footpaths


from the school to the vil- lage


centre, there are no


footpaths immediately out- side the school entrance. A survey carried out of


all houses in Ballycotton put parking, traffic congestion and poor footpaths ahead of wastewater treatment and playgrounds. In his report to the East


Cork Municipality on Tues- day 2 May, Senior Engineer Cork Roads David Clarke said the construction of a new 1.29km road would ease traffic chaos in the area. However, the prospect of


providing the new route was “not realistic” as construc- tion costs are estimated at €2millon, not including land acquisition. Mr Clarke stated if the


motoring public adhered to the parking controls in the village


it would allow for


better traffic flow. He added the provision


of public parking should be considered as part


of the


Ballycotton Harbour Devel- opment plan which is cur- rently ongoing, highlighting lands on the western side of the village as suitable for de- velopment. Mr Clarke concluded due


• Ballycotton RNLI station


to the topography of Bally- cotton it was not possible to provide further footpaths. “The school could con- sider developing an off road


drop off area / additional staff parking. Underdevel- oped land in the environs of the school would appear suitable” he said. Fine


Gael Councillor


Michael Hegarty said the report didn’t give any hope to the Ballycotton Develop- ment Company aspirations for the future expansion of the area. Fellow Fine Gael Coun-


cillor Susan McCarthy said she also found the report “disappointing” and felt other options should have been considered on the groups behalf. She said “if we cannot


provide a feeder road then we have to provide safe ac- cess through the


As it stands they have had problems with emergency services getting through.” The


Midleton based


councillor added either the authority provide land or support the purchase of a suitable site. Senior Executive Officer


Sean O’Callaghan told the sitting he would request the authority’s traffic manage- ment team to investigate the possibility of providing a car park.


Midleton Féile an tSamhraidh This Weekend


day 5th 6th


This weekend Fri- and Saturday


May will once again


see Midleton Féile an tSamhraidh host young musicians singing, playing piano, strings, woodwind or brass in the GAA Hall and The CBS Secondary School. While the Feile is run on a voluntary basis, thanks to the support of the County Council Arts Office and the Munici- pal Grant schemes and additional support from O’Mahony insurances, Moloney Pianos and Hurley’s SuperValue, the CBS and the GAA,


@eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal eastcorkjournal


there is a prize fund of €1500 on offer over the weekend. The Schools compe-


titions will take place in the GAA Hall on Friday and there


are


students coming from West Cork, Cork City, Dublin, Wicklow and Limerick in addition to Midleton and surround- ing areas. For Friday evening


and Saturday all com- petitions will take place in the Christian Broth- ers Secondary School. There will be competi- tions in singing, piano, strings, woodwind and


brass as well as the Arts Award competition which will take


over the


on Friday evening and which


place past


number of years has proven to be a profes- sional standard of per- formance from some outstanding musicians. All competitions are


open to the public for the small entry free of €4.00 for the day.


An-


yone looking for more information on the Féile can contact the Direc- tor, Mary Corbett on 087 6307745 or visit the web site www.feile- antsamhraidh.com


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie village.


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