LETTER OF THE WEEK: Newport pedestrian safety concerns need to be addressed

Sir,

I HAVE reached out to members of Mayo County Council in order to express my concern for pedestrian safety in Newport.

I spent the month of July there taking care of our family home and enjoying some of Mayo before returning to Cleveland, Ohio.

I have been coming to Newport since I was a child. My father was from Acres Road and we have owned a home on Acres now for over 20 years. I consider Newport my second home and love it dearly.

I am quite disappointed to see the lack of pedestrian safety in the town.

There are no designated sidewalks, no traffic calming lights and some days traffic was so bad it was a feat to try and cross the road anywhere in town safely.

One particular day coming out of Centra I was almost hit as I was trying to cross the street.

There are parked cars along the main road and anyone driving too fast, as in this particular incident, can't see someone possibly trying to cross.

Besides my personal incident, I am especially concerned there is a park always full of kids on the main road and no safe way for them to cross the bridge into town or cross Meddlicott Street.

It is especially concerning there is lack of forethought for the safety of children on such a busy part of town.

I became more disappointed with the lack of safety when driving to and from Dublin a few times.

Throughout the drive you see all the designated crosswalks, lights, calming zone, etc, in all the towns, to and from, many of which are much smaller and extremely less busy compared to Newport.

I know residents of Newport have expressed these same concerns. I have seen many social media posts and comments in these regards.

I understand there is a town plan and saw the exciting project, but know that is many years down the road, and this matter is of more urgency.

The safety of the children, residents and visitors should be a priority for the council. Newport is in the corridor of so much traffic and tourism and deserves the immediate attention of the council to resolve this issue of pedestrian safety before a tragedy occurs.

Thank you for your time and attention to my concerns.

Hoping to return to a safer Newport in the near future.

Yours sincerely,

Siobhan Gannon,

Acres, Newport, Co. Mayo, and Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

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