New mount temple kerbing can be seen from space mayor

There has been a “huge backlash” among Mount Temple residents against new kerbing installed in the locality, a council meeting was told recently.

Several councillors strongly criticised the new kerbing from Temple Villa football club to the village, which was designed to slow traffic and facilitate pedestrians.
One councillor called it “a disaster” while another predicted “mayhem” on the road during “silage season”.

“Somebody told me that there are two things you can see from space: the Great Wall of China and the kerbing going through Mount Temple village!” quipped Cllr Frankie Keena.

At the May meeting of the Athlone Municipal District the work was defended by the council’s executive engineer, Barry Lennon, who said the kerb was installed along the existing road edge and the width of the road hadn’t been reduced because of it.

“It is a culture shock, but people will get used to it,” said Mr Lennon. “There have been no accidents (since the kerb was installed). Nobody’s lost wing mirrors. If this kerbline wasn’t done, the road would be the same width but there would be no pedestrian facilities along the road.”

Cllr Michael O’Brien stated that the work was “a disaster” and it was “all that has been spoken about in Mount Temple” over the previous week.

He said there needed to be more consultation with local residents in advance of work like this taking place, as some people had difficulties accessing their homes for a few days while it was being carried out.

Cllr John Dolan said he was “inundated” with calls from residents in relation to the work. “We’re told (the road) is the same (width) but for two cars to meet it would be very narrow. There will be a lot of tractor and machinery traffic and we’re going to have fair fun when the grass season starts,” he said.

Cllr Aengus O’Rourke said he had driven on the road after the kerbing was installed. “I encountered a jeep pulling a tractor and it was quite difficult for us to pass,” he stated.

“Pull-in bays” - to allow some vehicles pull in and let others past - were requested by Cllr Tom Farrell, who predicted “mayhem” on the road “when silage season starts.”

Installing kerbing to narrow the road and slow traffic would be a good idea in some parts of Athlone “but not in rural Ireland,” said Cllr Kevin 'Boxer’ Moran.

Cllr Frankie Keena said he heard that a petition calling for traffic calming measures in Mount Temple had recently amassed “120 or 130” signatures, but that afterwards some people said they didn’t know what they were signing.

“To me, a path is warranted from the village to the playground. The kerbing is there now and it’s not going to be taken out,” said Cllr Keena.

“We need to work with what we have to ensure that mothers with prams can walk safely along that footpath to the playground and also that people involved in agriculture can go about their business,” he said.

The executive engineer, Mr Lennon, said he had also spoken to local people about the work and their reactions were “50-50... some people are very happy with it.”

He also said the work would be ongoing for a few more weeks but that no pull-in bays would be installed as there was no need for them.

He added that the footpath would initially have a “rolled stone surface of about 1 kilometre” and that funding would be sought next year to lay down a tarred surface on the path.