Hillside safety raised again

The question of road safety at the exit from the Hillside development was again raised at a recent meeting of Kilcullen Community Action.

J J Warren said the road had been narrowed by the development and that Kildare County Council's Enforcement Officer had asked the Roads Department to investigate.

"Somebody has to be accountable," he said, "or do we have to wait until somebody is killed?"

He added that there was no point in saying that cars only drove up the hill 'at 30mph'. "At night they'll be doing sixty. The problem is there and we have to be constructive about it."

Saying that the problem lay with the 'sight line' for exiting traffic from the development, he suggested that the solution would involve bringing out further the footpath on the uphill side of the Hillside entrance, and the provision of some kind of 'island' on the road.

— Brian Byrne.

EDITOR's NOTE: The pictures below, taken this afternoon, probably well illustrate Mr Warren's view. But they also suggest that it is not necessarily the fault of the development.



The first of the sequence is taken with my car lined up with the exit line (still notional) which would extend from the path on the uphill side (picture above).



As can clearly be seen, the sightline downhill is difficult enough, but with a car and a van both parked on the double yellow lines outside the Gala store, and another car further down on the actual bend of the path, it is practically impossible to see upcoming traffic safely. The double-parked An Post van across the road doesn't help either.

The other two pictures are the views as I tried to move out, and the sightline was completely obscured. I only got across when a downward driver to the north of me flashed me out, but I was still going 'blind'. As a professional driver, I don't think I or any other road user should be put in that position by, at best, thoughtlessness.

Double yellow lines are usually painted for a good reason. And they work, if drivers believe they will be enforced. At the moment it seems nobody believes so.


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