New warning signage for Tang blackspot

New signage urging motorists to slow down has been erected along the N55 this week on a dangerous stretch between The Three Jolly Pigeons and Creggy Bridge in Tang, the site of over ten accidents in the last two months. Cllr Joe Flanagan, who raised the issue at last week's Kilbeggan Area meeting said the council and staff from the National Roads Authority have assessed the road surface and found it to be up to standard, but excessive speed on the stretch since it was widened is thought to be one of the factors contributing to the high number of crashes on the busy road in the last eight weeks. The council is also considering putting a crash barrier up beside the house where a number of cars have ended in the garden in recent weeks, Cllr Flanagan stated. He said that the woman who lives there was terrified to let her grandchildren play on the lawn for fear of another crash at the site. At last Thursday's meeting in Kilbeggan, the Fine Gael councillor deemed the stretch an accident blackspot. "It's lucky nobody has been badly hurt," he said, adding that one family living there have had their garden destroyed several times, with cars landing virtually at their front door. "They're living in fear of 'the big one'," he said, asking if there was any possibility of having crash barriers erected. "There has to be some reason why people are leaving the road at that point, particularly after rainfall." The official response issued to Cllr Flanagan was that the council, together with the National Roads Authority, was currently assessing the site with a view to implementing a scheme of safety improvement measures. "We'll erect some signage and are hoping to do some road markings, but in my own view, speed is the issue," said Area Engineer, Pat Nally. At the same meeting last week, Cllr. Flanagan asked what plans Westmeath County Council has in place to deal with the number of overgrown roadside hedges, and was told that all hedges are currently being reviewed, and appropriate notices issued where necessary.