Concern that littering on N5 could cause major accident

The N5 road from Frenchpark to Knock is “an accident waiting to happen” due to a high volume of littering along the route, it has been claimed.

Carrick-on-Shannon man Gerry Eames has been contacting Roscommon and Mayo County Councils regularly since February in relation to what he describes as “an abundance of litter” along the route.

Mr Eames said he was shocked when he first saw plastic bottles and other items dumped on both sides of the road travelling to the University of Galway Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence in February.

Since then, he has pleaded for signage and action from both county councils in relation to the issue. He told the Roscommon Herald that he felt the litter could attract wildlife and cause an accident.

“I am not exaggerating when I say that it is a health and safety risk. We have signage for exits, dangerous bends, etc., but subtle signs saying this is a litter free zone would be a start. Realistically, this needs to be cleared because it is the next generation that suffers. This is an accident waiting to happen because the litter will attract wildlife. Then there will be carnage on the road,” he warned.

“When the grass grows over and camouflages it the problem will be hidden away, but it is still there. We need to educate people not to be littering on our roads. It is on both sides of the road. The amount of bottles discarded…it is not an odd bottle, it is an abundance,” he stated.

The Carrick-on-Shannon man believes that neither Roscommon or Mayo County Council have done enough to address his concerns.

Mr Eames is of the viewpoint that “nobody is taking ownership” for the issue at hand. “I spoke with the Roscommon County Council and also the Mayo County Council’s Department of Environment, but both say it is such a long stretch that they could not really manage it. It was referred to the litter warden from Mayo County Council side and he said his main dealings were with remote areas of Mayo.

“Colleagues of his in Mayo and Roscommon County Councils have also said it is Transport Infrastructure Ireland who oversee it because it is such a dangerous stretch. I have suggested signs and have done up templates. I also suggested setting up a credit scheme in small towns and following up to see does it have any impact. Anything will be a plus rather than doing nothing whatsoever. There is complete apathy from both county councils towards the issue.

“Nobody is taking ownership of the issue, which is why I am speaking to the Roscommon Herald. We are entering tourist season with Knock Airport sure to be busy and hopefully tourists coming to the area yet we have this eyesore along a major road.

“What I cannot understand is that there are local towns on this stretch that are in proximity or are adjacent to the N5, they come out and gather up litter and put it in bags. The county councils then comes along and removes these bags. The county council states they cannot bring their own workers out because it is a dangerous road, but they have no problem with people in small towns picking it up. For me that just does not make sense,” he concluded.