Progress made on long-awaited safety works for ‘dangerous’ pedestrian crossing in Mayo town
Progress is being made to address long-standing safety concerns at a pedestrian crossing on the N26 in Foxford.
A Road Safety Audit has been completed on the crossing, and a design and Section 38 proposal are due to be published in the first quarter of this year.
Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 gives local authorities the power to introduce traffic-calming measures on public roads.
The pedestrian crossing has been a significant concern among Foxford residents for many years.
It is located at the main junction in the centre of Foxford, where traffic comes in from four directions at the intersection of the N26 and N58 national routes.
The N26 runs through the centre of Foxford, carrying traffic southbound from Ballina and northbound from Swinford. The N58 brings traffic from Castlebar and Westport through the town along Main Street.
Additional traffic approaches the junction from Lower Main Street, with cars coming from St Joseph’s Secondary School, the Foxford Woollen Mills, and Moy Davitts GAA club.
Due to the varying road levels, the crossing is hidden from view for motorists travelling southbound into Foxford on the N26 from Ballina, and only becomes visible when they are just a few meters away.
The crossing is also positioned close to a corner, near the junction where traffic turns right off Main Street or left from Lower Main Street, making it difficult for drivers to see before completing their turn and accelerating onto the N26 or N58.
Foxford-based councillor Neil Cruise has raised the issue at multiple council meetings over the years.
In October 2022, the Foxford Enhancement Group and Cllr Cruise petitioned Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to make safety improvements to the crossing.
They highlighted the increased traffic following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the heightened danger for pedestrians.
Their petition asked for the crossing to be raised to the level of the N58 to improve visibility, and called for better lighting, pre-warning signage, and consideration of a push-button controlled system with red and green pedestrian signals.
In March 2025, TII allocated €87,300 for enhanced safety works and junction improvements at the crossing.
At the latest meeting of Mayo County Council, Cllr Cruise said he was delighted to see an update on the crossing in the Management Update Report.
He asked for the design and Section 38 proposal to be made public as soon as possible.
In addition to this update, Cllr Cruise also highlighted Phase Two of the N26 Mount Falcon to Foxford road, which has had a consultant appointed and is currently at Phase Two ‘Options Selection’, with the preferred corridors expected to be announced in the first quarter of this year.
While welcoming the progress on the N26, Cllr Cruise also called on his colleagues in the Ballina area to support putting the N58 “back on the agenda.”
“Over 65pc of traffic that leaves Ballina turns right in Foxford and goes up the N58. It is arguably as important, if not more important, as the upgrade of the N26 - it is as important to Ballina and to north Mayo,” he said.
An online public consultation for the N58 Foxford Transport Project was held on October 15, 2025, and stayed open for four weeks to gather views and ideas from residents.
An update from Tom Gilligan, Director of Services for Roads at Mayo County Council, showed the project is currently at Phase Two, options selection, though no timeframe has been given yet.
“Ballina and north Mayo need to connect up with Castlebar and Westport,” Cllr Cruise told the latest meeting of Mayo County Council.
“We need to put our effort into the N58 and put a new one in place,” he said, “A proper N58 similar to what was proposed before.”
“We have a very unique situation in Mayo in that we have three towns of fairly substantial size, we don’t have one dominant town like Galway or Roscommon. We have a different situation here. We need to connect all three,” he said.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.