Writes Leo McMahon
A full survey and plan for the village of Ballygarvan were called for by Cllr Aidan Lombard (FG) and fully supported at the monthly meeting of Cork County Council’s Bandon-Kinsale Municipal District (MD).
‘I’ve been on about a range of issues in Ballygarvan for a year and a half but we seem to be getting nowhere’ said Cllr Lombard who then suggested all of the following:
. A speed survey, traffic calming and parking.
. Pedestrian access, especially the lack of a footpath at the bridge.
. Provision of a pedestrian crossing.
. Improving drainage in the village and the hill around it.
. Provision of a bus service and a bus bay.
‘There isn’t an expectation that everything can be done now but we can no longer accept a situation in which school children walk across a bridge with no footpath along a busy regional road with lorries going through it. We need to have a proper plan in place so that when funding comes, things could be delivered piece by piece’, he stated.
Cllr Lombard welcomed drainage work in Ballygarvan and recalled how he met an older resident who told him how effective was an old stone culvert beyond the church taking water from the hill, under the road and diverting it around the village in an open drain.
Renewing his call on Bus Eireann for a bus service for Ballygarvan, he said he checked for himself and found that the current journey from Cork Airport to Five Mile Bridge took about four minutes but to go via the Glen and Ballygarvan would add on only six minutes and serve a growing village. On that basis, seeking a bus service for Ballygarvan wasn’t unreasonable in his opinion.
Senior executive engineer Charlie McCarthy said the Roads Design Office had been requested to appoint a consultant to look at what could be done with the bridge to achieve safe pedestrian access and a survey to get an overall lay-out for the village. Local co-operation, he accepted, would be needed. Senior executive engineer Brendan Fehily concurred, adding that in the end it would come down to money but a bid for capital funding from development charges etc. had gone in. Cllr Lombard’s motion seeking a full survey was unanimously adopted.
Members agreed to submit to MD officer Enda O’Halloran issues to be raised ahead of a meeting they sought with the area manager of Bus Eireann. These include a bus service for Ballygarvan, the need for a safer inbound bus stop in Kinsale, late night buses at Christmas for Kinsale and Bandon and an improved Cork-Carrigaline service.
Cllr Lombard asked if the crash barrier could be continued along what is a slightly wider section of the twisty road close the Ballea River on the road to Ballygarvan where some trees fell during Storm Ophelia because in icy conditions, vehicles could easily end up in the river. Executive engineer Martin McCormick undertook to have this examined but felt there wasn’t room and added that such works were very expensive.
Cllr Aidan Lombard
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