Crossings causing 'war'

THERE was a discussion at the last meeting of the West Mayo Municipal District on the subject of pedestrian crossings for Newport, writes Padraig Burns. The gist of the debate was that while the town badly needed the crossings, under no circumstances should there be any agreement to let courtesy crossings be put in place instead.

Westport was referred to as an example of all that’s wrong with courtesy crossings. One councillor, not one of the native Westport members, said that there was ‘often war in Westport’ about the courtesy crossings.

While I wouldn’t go as far as saying there was ‘war’ over the crossings, it’s undeniable that they do cause a lot of confusion.

Pedestrians, especially visitors unaware of their status, frequently step on to the crossings expecting vehicles to stop. Most drivers do stop but a significant number don’t and that is where the confusion stems from.

There are a plethora of such crossings in the town and they depend solely on the courtesy of the driver to give way to pedestrians crossing the roads.

There is only one official pedestrian crossing in Westport where motorists are obliged to stop to let people cross the road and that is located on James Street. It’s not the busiest spot in the town by any means but it was installed there when the tourist office was on James Street and maybe the number of people crossing the street at the time there influenced the decision to place it there.

Certainly, the crossing halfway up Bridge Street in Westport between Gavin’s and Cosy Joe’s could do with being made into an official pedestrian crossing.

For that to happen, the authorities have to carry out an official count to ensure that the volume of users warrants a proper crossing. I imagine any day over the next few weeks would provide the necessary figures to support the installation of one there.