COUNCIL officials are reluctant to spend money resurfacing the Rope Walk and Scart Road in Bantry because it may be replaced in the near future with the Bantry relief road, a meeting heard last week.
Independent Ireland Cllr Danny Collins raised a motion at last week’s meeting of the Western Division where he called on the Council to put both Scart Road and The Rope Walk under a programme of resurfacing for this year. He also asked that speed signs be installed to slow down traffic in that area.
He said ambulance drivers have been onto him about the road which they described as like being on a ‘rollercoaster’.
‘I’m calling for some resurfacing works to be carried out there. I don’t expect all of it to be done but If we could get some of it completed in the next two to three years, that would be great,’ said Cllr Collins.
‘Also the residents on Scart Road are concerned about the speed there and one resident has asked can we get speed ramps in there. Can we do something like raised tables there as it’s a death trap at times and we need to get the traffic slowed down.’
Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) seconded the motion and said he has received many calls about this.
Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy (FF) said he uses that road regularly and said it certainly needs to be upgraded. Cllr Murphy accepted that the by-pass in the long term will sort this issue, but said something else needs to be done in the interim.
Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) also supported the motion and said that works needs to be carried out on that road.
Executive engineer Kevin Lynch said that phase two of the Bantry Relief Road – joining Chapel Street to the N71 at the West Lodge Hotel – may incorporate some or all of the Rope Walk and some of Scart Road.
‘The design of this route has not been finalised so I think it would be premature to expend an appreciable amount of scarce funds resurfacing a road that may be replaced in the future,’ said Mr Lynch.
‘Ongoing pot holes repairs will be continued and existing speed signs are in place which are 60 kph at the West Lodge and 50 kph further east at the Bantry Enterprise Park.’
He said speed enforcement is still matter for the gardaí but he will refer the request for speed control to the road design office.
Cllr Collins pointed out that the Bantry Relief Road is going on for 40 years.
‘I can see the first part of it from Newtown up to the hospital cross, I would hope, being done within the next five to 10 years but I cannot see the rest of it being for 20 to 25 years,’ he said.
‘We all know that Bantry will be the last town to get a relief road. It’s ridiculous that we can’t resurface a road because that by-pass won’t happen for another 20 years.’
Mr Lynch pointed out that the design phase of phase one of the by-pass is nearly completed.
