Funding for 'rain garden' plan at busy Athlone road junction
Plans to install a grass verge to slow down traffic at the busy junction of Elliott Road/Market Square are back on the table, over two years after the novel idea was first proposed at a meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District.
Westmeath County Council has confirmed that an enhanced plan to carry out road safety improvement works at the busy junction on the west side of Athlone will incorporate a grass verge – designed now as 'a rain garden' – as well as a number of other key measures aimed at improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the area.
Funding to the tune of €200,000 was allocated to Westmeath County Council last week for road safety works in the Elliott Road area as part of an overall package of active travel funding for a wide range of schemes across the town and county.
As well as the installation of a 'rain garden' at the Elliott Road/Custume Barracks junction, the local authority also plans to reposition the pedestrian crossing at Elliott Road to bring it closer to “the desire line”, or the preferred unofficial route by users, opposite Luan Gallery; widening and raising of pedestrian crossing on the Market Square side of the junction and enhanced lining and signing in the area.
Rain gardens offer the opportunity to manage rainwater runoff from hard surfaces after downpours by planting an attractive, low maintenance, wildlife-friendly space, according to the UK's leading gardening charity, the Royal Horticultural Society.
When the idea of installing a grass verge as a traffic calming measure between the Luan Gallery and Ss. Peter and Paul's Church was first introduced at a meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District in November 2023, it raised a few eyebrow among elected members, with Cllr Aengus O'Rourke remarking “I can only imagine the faces of the people on the west side when they come out on a Monday morning and see half an acre of grass on the road! That will be interesting.”
Describing the plan as “novel” Cllr O'Rourke clarified that he hadn't actually proposed a grass verge, but had looked to have to pedestrian crossing on Elliott Road moved further down. “But I do appreciate that if it were further down people might be less inclined to walk that far down to cross,” he added.
Cllr John Dolan described the pedestrian crossing at the Luan Gallery as “absolutely deadly” and said he didn't know how it was “ever put in”.
The then-acting district manager, Willie Ryan, told the November 2023 meeting that the planned grass verge would serve to “tighten up the radius at the Ss. Peter and Paul's Church side” of the turn in the road, and added that it was “quite a straightforward project” which had been prompted by concerns about the safety of the pedestrian crossing
Mr Ryan told the meeting that vehicles coming from Pearse Street and turning onto Elliott Road were “still making their turning manouvre when they arrive at the pedestrian crossing” and he added that this was “a danger associated with” that crossing point.
He also told members the plan was to move on the installation of the grass verge “fairly quickly” but works around the castle could delay the project and push it into the new year (2024.) “We should know where we are in about ten days, and if we do get the nod in ten days, we can move on it straight away,” Mr Ryan told the 2023 meeting.