Approval for new walkway at accident hotspot close to Limerick village

COUNCILLORS have approved plans for a new footpath in an area of County Limerick which has seen a number of road  fatalities.

It comes after Limerick City and County Council's executive lodged an application for the path which will be constructed between Clarina village and Brick Lodge on the Ferrybridge side of the village.

The works will include the set back of the footpath six metres from the road and the creation of a four-metre shared surface.

With the current junction being considered dangerous, community groups in Clarina have called for this for years.

Since the development is taking place on public lands, it was the role of councillors to reject, approve or change it.

Members of the metropolitan district endorsed the proposal when it came before them at their monthly meeting.

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Independent councillor for Patrickswell, Fergus Kilcoyne has welcomed the approval given to this new path.

He said it was his own notice of motion, from July 8, 2019 when he had just joined the local authority which got the ball rolling on this.

In the motion, he pointed out there had been “numerous fatalities” in the area over the years.

Fellow Patrickswell councillor Dan McSweeney also welcomed the approval.

He said: “This is a major advancement for this long awaited scheme which the community have waited many years for. It’s brilliant news for the area of Clarina/Ballybrown, it is a project I have worked extremely hard on for the last four years with council Staff and at times it has moved slowly but today we can look back and see how far this scheme has come.”

Paying tribute to council staff, he said he hopes to see diggers on the ground soon.