Confusion over courtesy crossings prompts safety audit

Tullamore Municipal District is to conduct a safety audit of all designated courtesy crossings in Tullamore.

Councillor Declan Harvey said there is a lot of confusion linked to the crossings. ''Some people think they can just walk out and the cars will stop like a pedestrian crossing, but that's not the case, it's up to the drivers as to whether they will allow people to cross. I am asking for some sort of sign to let people know what they should do,'' he said.

There are a few courtesy crossings in the centre of Tullamore, one on Columcille Street, the other on High Street and there is one extremely busy crossing at the Bridge Centre. Most cars will stop to allow people to cross but they are not obliged to do so.

Meanwhile, there have also been calls for signs along the grand canal greenway.

One person said that the greenway from Fiona Pender's memorial down to the first gate has become quite busy with cars.The daily walker said that clear signs indicating that drivers should give way to pedestrians and cyclists should be prominent. ''There are very few places where pedestrians can walk in comfort and a greenway should be one of them, but instead we end up walking along the bank of the canal to allow cars to go past. With this weather the canal banks are very mucky and slippy. Some cars slow down but others drive as if they are on a road. They should either stop completely to allow pedestrians and cyclists to get by safely or slow down to a crawl.''

At the moment there are blue signs depicting an adult and child pedestrian and a bicycle. But they are placed near a number of other signs regarding fishing laws and boards about Fiona's Way and the pedestrian signs are not that obvious to motorists.