Mayo councillor says ‘enough is enough’ as 12-year wait for pedestrian crossing safety works drags on
A Mayo councillor has said “enough is enough” as delays continue in delivering long-promised safety improvements at a busy pedestrian crossing in Foxford.
Cllr Neil Cruise said he will now hold Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and Mayo County Council responsible for any future accidents or injuries due to what he described as an “inordinate delay in taking corrective action”.
The Foxford-based councillor has been calling for safety measures to be implemented at the crossing along the N26, which runs through the town centre, since it was installed in 2014.
After Mayo County Council officials committed to publishing design proposals and a Section 38 by the end of February, Cllr Cruise is now calling for immediate progress to be made on making the crossing safe for both pedestrians and road users.
He previously warned that residents are prepared to protest and block the road if necessary to demonstrate their frustration at the length of time it has taken for safety works to begin.
At the March meeting of Mayo County Council, he pressed officials to publish the design plans “this side of St Patrick’s Day”, but that deadline has now also passed.
“The section 38 that I have been blue in the face shouting about still isn’t published,” he said.
He warned that further delays would trigger a “reaction from the people of Foxford”.
“It won’t be a reaction that people in here [would] like, but there will be a reaction,” he told the chamber.
“On a daily basis, we see the [issues] of a very poor design, and we need to address that,” he said.
The crossing is located at a busy junction in Foxford where the N26 and N58 meet, with additional local traffic feeding into the intersection.
The N26 carries traffic between Ballina and Swinford, while the N58 links the town to Castlebar and Westport.
A difference in road levels between the two routes has led to significant visibility issues, particularly for drivers coming in from the Ballina side, who cannot clearly see the white markings until they are close to them.
Cllr Cruise told council executives that his constituents want a “design put in front of them” so they can offer their views and provide feedback, and said this would also give them reassurance that progress is being made.
“12 years later, we need to see progress. We need to see the Section 38 published and the works to follow it thereafter. There have been too many false dawns,” he said.
Concerns about safety at the crossing have been building for a number of years. In 2022, residents submitted a petition to TII calling for urgent improvements.
The petition called for the crossing to be raised to match the level of the N58 to improve visibility. It also proposed enhanced lighting, additional warning signage, and the introduction of a pelican crossing.
TII allocated €87,300 to the crossing in March 2025 for enhanced safety measures and junction improvements, but no works have been carried out to date.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.