Councilor Thomas Healy said there was an urgent need for a safety audit of the N4 roundabout.
At the Sligo County Council plenary meeting on Monday, Cllr Healy highlighted the alarming number of accidents on the N4 and said it was a “worrying” issue which needed to be addressed.
“The opening of the long-awaited 15km motorway upgrade from Castlebaldwin to Collooney on the N4 in October 2021 is a welcome boon for development in Sligo and the North West, but the number of road accidents at the Castlebaldwin roundabout and The frequency of Collooney is a big concern,” he said.
Cllr Healy emphasized that the motorway is statistically the safest road to drive on and generally has the lowest chance of collisions, but said that because of the speed levels involved it meant that when accidents did occur they tended to be higher than Accidents on minor roads were more serious.
“That’s why the number of accidents on the N4 is very concerning; there are frequent accidents at the Castlebaldwin/Highwood roundabout, mainly due to the speed approaching the roundabout,” he said.
“I’m assuming the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) review would recommend rumble strips or some other driver alerting measure.
“Similarly, at the Collooney roundabout we have a lot of traffic and pedestrians crossing. While I welcome the measures outlined by the Active Travel Project Toberbride to Collooney, which is due to begin its second phase next year, the TII’s proposed review may have Additional safety advice.”
Councilor Thomas Healy has called on all MPs to support his safety audit motion to ensure Sligo’s roads are as safe as possible and accident-free.
Fine Gael Cllr Gerard Mullaney backed the motion and said he was aware of a number of accidents at these roundabouts, with particular emphasis on the speed of traffic coming from Sligo.
“Traffic was coming down the hill to the roundabout at too much speed and a solution needed to be found before there was an accident and someone died,” he said.
“Pedestrians are scared when they cross the road.”
A response from Senior Engineer Tom Brennan said Sligo County Council would write to TII to request a proper safety assessment of the N4 roundabout in County Sligo.
