€170,000 allocated for footpath

A total of €170,000 has been allocated by Westmeath County Council for new footpaths in Baylough this year, but motorists will have to wait until 2010 for traffic calming measures. These are to be introduced at the junction where the Baylough and Roscommon Roads meet. At last week"s Athlone Area meeting of the local authority, councillors heard that €50,000 had been allocated in the council"s roads programme towards footpaths in Baylough. Because the total cost of the project was €170,000, Director of Services Barry Kehoe recommended that the remaining €120,000 be allocated from development levies in order to complete the footpath works in Baylough this year. Cllr Kieran Molloy put forward a question asking whether designs for road safety measures in Baylough had been completed and costed. Mr Kehoe stated that a design had been completed for traffic calming measures in the area, including a right turning lane at the Baylough Road and Roscommon Road junction, and that it was hoped this work would be completed in 2010. Cllr Molloy asked whether this work would resolve the traffic backlog problem in the area and he was told by Mr Kehoe that it would not. 'What will?' asked Cllr Molloy. 'Possibly signals at the junction, or a roundabout,' said Mr Kehoe.