Residents in ‘rat run’ estate won’t be divided
By John Cleary
A barrier system blocking through traffic is unlikely to be used in an estate which is regularly used as a ‘rat run’ according to locals, who are divided on the issue.
A proposal to place a barrier in the Idrone Park estate off the O’Brien Road, to prevent through traffic using it, was shot down by residents who did not want to see the estate divided.
Town engineer Kieran Cullinane last week confirmed that ramps now seemed the most likely traffic-calming solution for the estate, with surfacing works due to begin this week.
The idea of a barrier sytem had orginally been mooted in July after residents complained about the volume of traffic using the estate as a ‘rat run’ to avoid the O’Brien Road.
However the thought of dividing the estate did not appeal to all residents with 50 per cent in favour of a barrier and 50 per cent against.
The council’s decision to discard the barrier option and move ahead with a more conventional traffic-calming measure, was welcomed as the common sense approach by councillors last week.
“At the end of the day we couldn’t do anything else, this is the best decision for everyone,” said Cllr Jennifer Murnane O’Connor.
“The key for us was not dividing that estate. This is an estate where there has always been good relations among neighbours,” agreed Cllr Ann Ahern.
“We have seen issues in estates smaller than this which were divided and remain divided over those issues.”
A traffic survey in the area revealed that up to 40 per cent of the traffic using the estate was using it as a through-road or short-cut to another destination, although residents are adamant it is actually technically a longer route.
Cllr Michael Abbey congratulated the residents for the active role they took in the process and said it had been helpful in showing some of them what was happening in their estate.
“Out of all the to-ing and fro-ing a lot of them got to have a look at the area and are more conscious of what’s going on,” he said.
“The side-effect is that residents are a bit more conscious of the way they behave when driving in and out.”
But although the issue of traffic-calming seems to be near a resolution, residents still have concerns about safety and anti-social behaviour in the estate because of easy pedestrian access, according to Cllr Murnane O’Connor.
The green area at the end of the estate has often been used as a hang-out for youths to drink in, who then leave it littered with beer cans and rubbish.
Mr Cullinane said that the boundary wall at the end of the estate was very low and so closing off the pedestrian access would not stop anti-social behaviour and would only inconvenience those who were unable to climb over it.
And he said attempting to rebuild a higher wall to keep out the anti-social element would come at a very high cost to the council.