5-AXLE BAN COULD BE INTRODUCED FOR CHAPEL STREET

A five-axle vehicle ban could be introduced for Chapel Street in Tallow, following concerns that the road may not be wide enough to safely accommodate heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

The matter was raised once again at a meeting of the Dungarvan Lismore Council this week, where local councillor James Tobin called for electronic signage to be installed directing such vehicles to the new link road.

Acknowledging signage already installed, Cllr Tobin called for temporary signage to be put in place to notify road users of the Michael J Prendergast Road.

“I think the signs on the pole here are a bit small, but if we had electronic signs up there on a temporary basis for six months, just until we get people used to the new road, it might help,” Cllr Tobin said.

COMPLIANCE

Senior Engineer with Waterford City and County Council, Gabriel Hynes, stated that he would look into the matter and see what may be suitable for the area.

“From a statutory point of view, we could put up maybe a five-axle, ban but I’m not sure if you want to go down that road where we ban all vehicles in excess of 5-axles. Initially, maybe the best thing to do is put advisory signs up there and hope that people with large HGVs will comply,” Mr Hynes said.

It was agreed that the council would install additional signage, initially and then review the matter.

Mr Hynes also agreed to meet with local councillors James Tobin, John Pratt and Declan Doocey, on-site, to discuss the issue further with council officials.

At a previous meeting of the Dungarvan Lismore District, it was agreed that additional advisory signage would be installed along Chapel Street to redirect traffic away from the area after it was claimed that telephone lines were being torn down regularly by HGVs.

Concerns were also raised previously regarding the ‘severity’ of speed ramps on the Michael J Prendergast Road, as it was noted that these ramps may be deterring vehicles from using the new link road.

At the time, council officials stated that the speed table on the link road was ‘ fulfilling its need’, but stated that the matter would be reviewed.