This article is from page 3 of the 2006-08-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
ROAD safety signs in Clare may soon be required to appear in Polish and Lithuanian if a new safety campaign receives the backing of Clare County Council.
Ennistymon County Councillor Martin Conway is preparing a motion for the next meeting of the local authority in September which will include a call for a complete examination of all the dangerous bends in the county, as well as putting forward the case for multilingual signs.
“I think that we need to be much more proactive about the signage,” said Cllr Conway. “We should be looking at putting up signs in other languages where there are Polish and Lithuanian people working and driving on the roads.
“I am really looking for Clare County Council to look at road behaviour, identify the dangerous bends and give us a commitment in terms of time and funding.”
Six people have already died on the county’s roads this year and with the creation of the Road Safety Authority, road safety looks certain to be a major issue in next year’s general election.
“What I want to see is a complete survey from Clare County Council of all dangerous bends and road surfaces in the county,” continued Cllr Conway. “It is very easy for officials to wash their hands and say that it is not their fault.
“As an agency, we have a role to play. I see this as something concrete that can be done to reduce the levels of road accidents. There is a myriad of areas around the county with bad roads and they need to be addressed. I want to see a commitment to action by Clare County Council.”
With funding for road projects always in short supply in the local authority, it may be necessary for an outside agency to foot the bill for the road improvement.
“Funding is always going to be an issue. I would say that the Department of the Environment would have a role to play in that but, wherever the money comes from, it is needed sooner rather than later,” said Cllr Conway.
“There are a number of accidents which don’t have fatalities and don’t get the media attention. This doesn’t mean that these sections of the road are not dangerous and will not be the cause of fatalities in the future.”