EXTINGUISHING a right of way isn’t a decision to be taken lightly, Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely told Limerick City and County Council.
Speaking at February’s Metropolitan District meeting, Cllr Kiely did, however, urge the local authority to do just this at Wallers Well, Roxboro Road.
She pointed out that local authorities can extinguish a right of way under the Roads Act 1993, but the power essentially is with the elected members.
“There is a process to be followed and I ask that that process be started with a view to executing it as soon as the process allows,” Cllr Kiely petitioned the Council chamber.
Cllr Kiely said that residents of Upper Marian Drive “went door to door in their area informing their neighbours of the process and the possibility of having the road closed off”.
According to Cllr Kiely, there is broad support with many residents in favour of this move, while some express reservations.
Cllr Kiely took the view that the road in question, an opening onto the Roxboro Road, is dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
“When someone comes out from Upper Marian Drive, which is known locally as Wallers Well, they come out onto double yellow lines on the crest of a hill away with no path. If you go left over the hill vegetation, you go out onto the left lane. If you go right, you don’t have a path either, you must walk against traffic to get to a pedestrian crossing.
“In any case, this is dangerous and needs to be addressed,” she said.
“The residents can get to the Roxboro Road by walking on Glenmore Avenue and then out onto the Roxboro Road. The residents in this area have put up with a lot in the last few years with an unfinished estate on their doorstep for years, as well as issues around the work on the track by Irish Rail,” she concluded.
In response, the Council’s Director of Transportation, Mobility, and Public Realm, Patricia Liddy, said that before commencing an extinguishment of any right of way, a review of the existing use and future needs to be determined.
Full consideration, she told Cllr Kiely, must be given to the impacts including public amenity, permeability benefits, safety of use and existing use/issues need to be addressed.
“We will need to fully consider these before starting any process,” she said.