With the NRA warning that large numbers of roads are not safe for users, Cllr Neale Richmond has said that a Countywide safety audited is needed

“Road safety campaigners, the families of road death victims and huge numbers of road users all know of specific cases where sections of roads are dangerous, or even lethal.
“Fred Barry’s admission is worrying because it comes after Ireland’s biggest ever economic boom.
“But it’s disturbing that the head of the NRA, which has responsibility for so many roads, has not been able to solve the problem. If it knows where the blackspots are, why are they still there?
“Why are we still seeing new road surfaces wear away, leaving a slippery shiny surface underneath? Many roads have been damaged once again by two harsh cold spells and it is imperative that these are repaired as soon as possible to prevent serious accidents.
“And why is so much signage still inadequate?
“Fine Gael has long called for a safety audit of all non-national roads. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown should be required to conduct annual audits of its road network, with assistance from the NRA. At the same time, the NRA should conduct audits of all national roads built more than ten years ago.
“Fred Barry’s comments are welcome, and he is right to point out that a variety of organisations are involved. The NRA must take some of the blame for not taking action sooner. But the succession of Fianna Fáil Transport Ministers over the last 13 years must take the lion’s share.”

Local Fine Gael Councillor Neale Richmond has called on the Government to lift the restriction on road gritting and allow people to spread grit on roads in their own areas.

“It’s now clear that the majority of non-national and estate roads will never be gritted with the NRA and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council concentrating their efforts on the busiest routes, particularly now that there is a ban on overtime.

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The Council Traffic Section has approved a temporary road closure for Ballyedmonduff Road.
The road closure will be from Cannon’s Corner to Glencullen Crossroads, (Johnnie Fox’s Pub).
The diversion route will be via Ballybetagh Road and Enniskerry Road.
The date of the closure is Sunday, 28th November, between 8.30am and 6.00pm.
The purpose of the closure is to allow the Water Maintenance Section to undertake essential repair works on the Council’s water network.
Local residents will be informed via a public information leaflet to all houses on the route.

Richmond tells council to ‘fix the potholes’ as winter approaches

Time is running out for local authorities to repair roads damaged in last year’s Big Freeze before the winter weather returns, Cllr Neale Richmond has warned

Fine Gael has learned that almost half of the money allocated to all local authorities and 68% to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown has still not been used, even though winter is approaching rapidly.

“Just over €5.6 million of emergency funding was given to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council this year to repair badly damaged roads. Yet €3.9 million of that funding has still not been spent – that’s 68% of the total.

“The Council can only avail of this money until the end of the year. But the biggest losers of all will be motorists and local residents, who witnessed the dramatic deterioration of roads all over Ireland last winter. This has serious safety consequences, as well as causing untold damage to vehicles.

“I have called on the County Manager to make maximum use of the available funding. There is no guarantee that similar funding will be available next year. Yet the coming winter is set to be just as bad, if not worse, as last year’s.”

Click here to see a Parliamentary Question put by Fine Gael Road Safety Spokesman Tom Hayes TD