Safety concerns raised over 'Texas Centre' road in Athlone

A local councillor has called for a safety review to be carried out on a privately-owned road in Athlone which she regards as very dangerous.

At yesterday's monthly meeting of the Athlone Municipal District, Cllr Ailish McManus spoke about her concern over the 'Texas Centre' road linking St Mary's Square with Sean Costello Street.   

The council responded to her motion by stating that a safety review of the road could be undertaken but that it would not be in a position to carry out any improvement works. 

"It should be noted that this road is not in the charge of the council. Any issues identified will be brought to the attention of the owner," said the council's response.

Cllr McManus said she appreciated it was a private road but that it was, in effect, being used as a public road by motorists travelling in both directions. 

"People are driving along at fairly high speeds and it's so, so dangerous at the corner there," she commented. 

Cllr John Dolan pointed out that there was no public lighting on the road, which creates "a major safety issue for pedestrians" at night. 

Athlone Mayor Aengus O'Rourke said an assessment should also be done on the nearby road from Supermac's to O'Brien's off licence as this was also a heavily-used road in private ownership. 

Cllr Michael O'Brien said there were "two humdingers of potholes" on the roads at the Texas Centre and O'Brien's off-licence. 

"This is a big issue. We all use these roads, and something has to be done there," he said.