SAFER access from The Moorings housing estate in Skibbereen to the town centre is needed, according to a resident who said that the existing route is problematic for people with disabilities, parents with prams, and older people using walking sticks.
The woman contacted The Southern Star recently after heavy rainfall covered the roadway and the low-lying footpath, making it temporarily impassable.
Even after the lightest of showers, she said, there is ponding on the roadway.
Although there are indications that the footpath – which runs parallel with the O’Donovan Rossa recreational park and the local GAA grounds, and leads to the Schull Road roundabout – has been patched and repaired, she claims it should be widened and raised.
She said community events at either the recreational or the sporting amenity means that a lot of cars are frequently parked the entire length of the roadway.
And because there is just one bollard on the entire street, the caller claimed that the footpath is frequently used for ‘off road’ parking.
‘Accessibility to town for pedestrians needs to be considered,’ she said, ‘because all of the emphasis seems to be on vehicular traffic.’
After speaking to a disability advocate, the woman said she was urged to raise the issue as a matter of health and safety.
‘Some people in the area have disabilities and it is not safe for them to walk on the road. It’s not safe for parents with prams or for older people, especially those with walking sticks,’ she added.
‘The increase in our rainfall due to climate change means the road is flooded more often,’ said the woman, who made the point that this is the only access route to Ilen Street and the town centre.
Because the estate is bordered by a wall on the N71 Skibbereen to Schull Road, she said pedestrians have to do a roundabout walk that can take 20 minutes to get to town, and this is more arduous during icy and snowy conditions.
The resident suggested that, ideally, the local authority could come up with a creative solution, such as providing a new car park on an adjacent greenfield site, as well as a more direct parallel path.
She also raised concerns about the speed of traffic on this particular stretch of roadway, suggesting that it, and the roundabout, aren’t as safe for pedestrians as they should be.
