Louth councillor flags hazards at Mell NS as Boice Court road opens
Safety concerns have been raised about a new access road opened as part of Louth County Council’s new housing scheme at Boice Court in Drogheda.
The issue was highlighted by Cllr James Byrne at the recent monthly meeting of the Drogheda Borough District. He said that while the second phase of the Boice Court scheme appeared close to completion, the layout of the new road running alongside Mell National School and out onto the main road had prompted worries among local residents and parents.
“Traffic is going to fly past the school and come to a T-junction,” he warned. “There are hazards along the way here. Would it not have been easier to allow traffic to flow directly onto the Cement Road?”
Responding to the concerns, Senior Engineer Declan Grimes said the road layout had been determined during the design and consultation phase of the project, and that Part 8 planning permission had already been approved for the works.
“Unfortunately we can’t change what has been approved and what is on site at the moment,” he said.
Mr Grimes confirmed that council officials were engaging with the principal of Mell National School ahead of the launch of 59 new housing units at Boice Court at the end of March.
He said the council would assess the impact of increased traffic and congestion. Should issues arise, the possibility of introducing traffic-calming measures would be examined.
A full traffic assessment was carried out during the planning process, he added.
“I am not going to say there won’t be issues, but we will monitor the situation,” Mr Grimes said.