A NOTORIOUS junction outside Bandon, which has been the scene of numerous road traffic collisions down through the years, including some fatal, needs to be urgently addressed, according to a local councillor.
Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) raised the issue of the Baxter’s Bridge junction on the R586 Bandon to Dunmanway at a meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District last week and said concern has come from residents in Carhue about this dangerous junction.
‘It was always a very busy road and now there are more houses and there is heavy traffic there with people using the route to Laragh National School.
‘It has been the scene of a number of collisions and I think it is time that we ask for a report from the gardaí to tighten up that junction,’ said Cllr Coughlan.
‘The visibility to the east is very poor and the speed of cars travelling west is very high and many may not see the signs that a junction is ahead. For those heading north, it’s a very wide junction and you’re trying to cross a really busy junction uphill with speeding cars.’
Cllr Coughlan added that her concern is that the junction will see further fatalities unless they really address it and said it is one of the most dangerous junctions in the municipal district.
Senior executive engineer Richard Cahill agreed that there is an issue at Baxter’s Bridge and had visited there recently and said that motorists coming from the Gaggin side are approaching a slope before the junction.
‘We even saw one car not stopping and driving straight through the junction. We have actually paved back the hill slope so it is more flat when motorists stop at the junction and we will keep an eye on this,’ he said.
Cllr Coughlan said that while welcoming the resurfacing works on North Main Street, it has been noted that the surface on the one way section of the street is in a shocking shape
‘I’m concerned that people are avoiding the potholes and getting onto the footpath and there are a lot of pedestrians using this street. If we can fix the carriageway in the interim that would be great.’
