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Council Round-Up: Killerisk Crossings And Concrete Slab Safety Issues

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The Killerisk Road where there are concerns about safety for residents due to the absence of a pedestrian crossing.

IT may be some time before a pedestrian crossing is introduced in the Killerisk area, councillors were told at the Tralee Municipal District meeting on Monday.

Cllr Norma Foley (FF) asked that a pedestrian crossing be provided on the Killerisk road Tralee as a matter of urgency as this is a busy residential and pedestrian area.

“This issue has been ongoing for some time and there are a lot of young and old residents in the area,” said Cllr Foley. “We were told some time ago that the issue would be looked at when the new bypass was in situ. Now that it is complete, can it be done as a matter of urgency?” she asked.

Senior Roads Engineer with Kerry County Council, Frank Hartnett, said that there are stringent regulations governing pedestrian crossings and the issue will be referred to the Road Design Office to undertake an analysis to determine if a crossing is warranted. “It’s not something that will happen in the next week or month,” he said.

Cllr Foley also raised the issue of cracked slabs and pavement in the town centre and asked for an audit of footpaths in the town centre be carried out with a view to repairing/replacing displaced slabs.

“This is causing difficulties in the town centre with some areas in very bad repair. A number of incidents have occurred and something needs to be done,” she said.

Cllr Terry O’Brien (Lab) agreed. “I know a woman who fell and hurt both her wrists in one spot,” he said, while Cllr Sam Locke (Ind) asked could pavement rather than slabs be put down in the Mall area.

Kerry County Council Engineer, Colm Lynch, told councillors that replacement slabs had been bought for The Mall area and work would begin soon to replace the broken ones.

As for an audit, councillors were told that the matter will be addressed through the upgrade / urban design of The Mall and town centre as per Tralee Transport Strategy.

Funding was recently allocated by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (€1.3 million plus €900,000 matching funds from Kerry County Council) to implement sections of the Tralee Transport Strategy over the next two years.

Therefore, it was deemed unnecessary at this stage to undertake an audit of town centre footpaths.