‘Safety measures are not optional’ - calls for urgent action on Cootehall traffic

Traffic congestion in Carrick-on-Shannon is having an impact in the North Roscommon village of Cootehall, where local residents say speeding cars and heavy vehicles are turning narrow village roads into a daily safety concern.

Sinn Féin Councillor Leah Cull said the situation has now “reached boiling point”, with motorists and lorries using Cootehall as an alternative route when traffic builds up on the N4 through Carrick-on-Shannon, particularly at weekends and over bank holidays.

The pressure is expected to continue while the long-awaited Carrick-on-Shannon bypass remains years away. “They’re saying the N4 bypass is coming by 2029, but I won’t believe that until it happens,” Cllr Cull said.

Around 520 people live in Cootehall, including many young families with small children and a significant elderly population. Locals say the village’s roads, footpaths and lighting have not kept pace with the level of traffic now passing through.

When traffic from Sligo heading towards Carrick-on-Shannon becomes backed up, some drivers divert through Cootehall to avoid the town bottleneck. Cllr Cull said this has left residents facing dangerous conditions on roads that were never designed for such volumes of traffic.

“It’s just like a war zone at the moment, at the weekend, during the week and now with heavy vehicles going through it,” she said.

Michael Cryan, secretary of the Cootehall Village Enhancement Committee, said the village can descend into chaos when motorists use it as a shortcut around Carrick-on-Shannon.

“It’s a rat-run. People are trying to get through as quick as possible, they’re racing through Cootehall,” he said.

Roscommon County Council has installed two small ramps in an effort to slow traffic, but local representatives say more safety measures are urgently needed.

Mr Cryan said parents are increasingly concerned about children walking through the village, including to the local playground. “There’s a lovely playground that children can walk to easily in the village, but parents don’t feel it’s safe with the traffic. Cars are zooming around the road. From a parent’s perspective, it’s the children’s safety,” he said.

Traffic avoiding Carrick-on-Shannon is not the only road safety issue affecting Cootehall. Residents have also been calling for improved public lighting and footpaths for several years.

Mr Cryan said there is a wider safety problem in the village, including a stretch of about 200 metres of dark road with no footpath or lighting.

The village’s population has grown significantly, with 180 pupils now attending the local national school compared with around 80 students ten years ago. Locals say that growth has made safe walking routes, lighting and traffic-calming measures even more urgent.

Cllr Cull said she has received a commitment for additional speed ramps and extra signage, but added that the village also needs a safe route to school plan, better lighting and proper footpaths.

“The school is down a small road, and it’s bedlam at school times. Parents aren’t happy letting their children walk to school without a safe route to school project,” she said.

“The lack of lighting is a serious issue around Cootehall as the area continues to be poorly lit,” Cllr Cull explained. “I am working with the assets department of the council and Electric Skyline, and we are at the quotation stages. Hopefully there will be extra lighting in Cootehall shortly.” “We need footpaths and lighting to the speed limits in the village. Sixty per cent of the village to the speed limit has no footpaths or lighting, which adds to the risk,” she said.

The volume of traffic through the village has increased over recent years, and locals say the situation worsened after work began on Hartley Bridge in May as part of a Leitrim County Council project.

Local councillors said they did not receive as much information as they would have liked about the works, which added further pressure to already congested roads.

For residents, the issue became especially alarming when local drivers began meeting lorries travelling at speed on village roads.

Cllr Cull pointed to nearby Leitrim Village, where she said every road has a footpath and speed limit, with speed ramps in critical parts of built-up areas.

Mr Cryan said the contrast between the two neighbouring villages is stark. “We’re maybe slightly smaller, but not much smaller. And it’s like night and day between the two,” he said.

Cllr Cull said the safety of children must be the priority. “Safety of our children should be to the forefront of absolutely everything that we do. Safety measures are not optional, they’re essential,” she said.