Fears that upgrades to Wexford Hospital junction will hamper emergency services

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Concerns have been raised about the planned upgrades to the Hospital Junction in Wexford town with a member of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) fearing it will slow down emergency services bringing patients in and out of the hospital. Speaking at the July meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), Councillor Ger Carthy, who is an operations resource manager with the National Ambulance Service by day, asked whether the NAS had been consulted prior to the works being approved.

“I have concerns about this and would like to see the financial proposals for that junction if possible,” he said. “It’s a very important junction, time is of the essence for those using it to get to the hospital.”

Expected to commence in Q3 of this year and take 2-4 months to complete, the works will see footpaths widened and cycle lanes added at the junction. As a result of the reconfiguration of the junction the short left-hand lane at the Boggan’s side of the junction will be removed.

Noting that the upgrading of the Newtown Road had cost €3m, Cllr Carthy suggested WCC was guilty of “over-engineering” its road networks and needed to focus on improving traffic management in the town.

“We’re spending a savage amount of money on public realm works,” he said. “Is this going to be in incorporated in the traffic management plan for Wexford town that I have a pain in my face asking for? There’s no sign of that.”

Addressing Cllr Carthy’s concerns, director of roads Eamonn Hore said the hospital junction works would go for public consultation before they were brought forward to the councillors.

“Everyone will get their chance to have a say on it,” he said. “The junction is not over-engineered; if you want to make it suitable for cyclists you have to give some recognition for cyclists.”