Who is responsible for the neglected village of Ballingarry?
People in the Lower Ormond village of Ballingarry who have been lobbying for a number of years for a traffic calming scheme to cut down on speeding through the village have been left confused over who exactly is responsible for carrying out such works.
They say it is the only village on the main N52 road between Nenagh and Dundalk in County Louth left without a modern traffic calming system.
Lives are being put in danger by drivers of cars and lorries ignoring the village speed limits.
Some of the buildings on the main street are derelict. Broken footpath are to be seen everywhere and the street lighting system is obsolete.
In response to the above issues raised by the Tidy Town Committee in the village, Tipperary County Council told this newspaper last month that it was aware of the issues and they had been discussed on a number of occasions at meetings of the Nenagh Municipal District authority.
It said that as Ballingarry was on the N52, the village comes within the remit of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
“Funding and approval from TII is therefore required to address most of the issues raised,” the council stated.
The council said the need for traffic calming measures has been raised by officials and elected members of the District with the TII at a number of meetings, and the local authority conceded that “most other settlements on national routes would have such measures in place.”
The council also said that public lighting and footpaths are matters for the TII.
QUESTIONS
However, the Tidy Towns Committee in the village have questioned the council’s response to the issues of concern it has raised.
The committee point out that they made representations to the TII just over a year ago in relation to works needed in the village, and received a response from that body stating that works were the responsibility of the council.
“Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) wish to advise that Tipperary County Council, as road authority for the area, is responsible for the upgrade and repair of transport infrastructure in Ballingarry,” the TII informed Joe Cleary, the Chairman of the village’s Tidy Towns Committee.
The TII informed Mr Cleary that while it carried out a collision analysis of the entire national road network annually to identify locations that have above average concentrations of crashes, this undertaking did not include the subsequent process to devise proposals to identify any appropriate road safety interventions.
“This is the responsibility of the relevant local authority, as the road authority for the area,” the TII stated.
It said that in order for TII to consider funding any safety proposals relating to national roads, Tipperary County Council is required to propose a design for a scheme, carry out an economic appraisal of the proposal, fully cost the scheme and prioritise the scheme.
However, it added: “TII is not aware of any safety proposals by Tipperary County Council at this location.”
ASSERTIONS
Mr Cleary said the above assertions made by the TII in its correspondence to him indicates “that Tipperary County Council is responsible for the upgrade and repair of the Ballingarry infrastucture.”
Mr Cleary also pointed out that the TII informed him in its correspondence that it had not been made aware by the council of any need for safety improvements in the village.
“So, it would seem that neither TII nor Tipperary County Council can agree on who is responsible for the village,” said Mr Cleary.
He said that despite the council’s claims to the contrary, the TII say they have not been made aware by the council of any need for safety improvements in the village.
He said he and the Tidy Towns Committee are now left questioning where the truth lies.
The Guardian contacted the council to comment on the points made above.
At the time of going to press we have not received a reply.