Safety scheme for Wexford village which has seen 360pc increase in trucks coming from Rosslare Europort
Wexford PeopleWhile the increase in trade at Rosslare Europort has boosted the local economy, this success has seen a significant rise in the number of heavy goods vehicles (HGV) travelling through the small residential areas dotted along the route to the port.
Nowhere has this been more keenly felt than in Tagoat where, since Brexit and the increased activity at the Europort, the number of road traffic accidents is double the national average for a similar stretch of road.
Traffic feedback signs have alleviated the problems to a degree but, following continued representations from local councillors, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has now agreed to carry out safety measures in Tagoat.
At the July meeting of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD), senior executive engineer Mark Collins presented Wexford County Council’s (WCC) plans for Tagoat in the coming months. He began by outlining how dangerous the village had become since the increases in traffic.
A survey carried out in Tagoat in July 2023 revealed that 63 pc of all vehicles passing through the village exceeded the 60 km/h speed limit and that 15 pc of that traffic was HGVs - a percentage which has since risen further. According to the most recent data 7,600 vehicles pass through Tagoat daily with that number rising to between 8,000 and 9,000 in the summer months.
The proposed changes will see the speed limit reduced to 50 km/h with improved signage on either side of the village to notify motorists they are entering a residential area. In addition, the width of the road will be reduced to 3.25m as Mr Collins explained.
“Currently, the road width encourages people to speed, they don’t feel the need to slow down going through the village,” he said. “The feedback signs have helped with speeding but it’s still a major issue.”
Part of the issue in Tagoat are the presence of two access roads to Bridgetown and Rosslare Strand and these junctions will both be incorporated into the new safety scheme.
Although safety is of paramount concern to the council, Mr Collins said there would also be measures taken to enhance the “sense of space” in Tagoat. This will see footpaths upgraded, new cycle and pedestrian access lanes on both sides of the road, a landscaping plan, cycling parking facilities, urban planting, proposed bee hive towers, wildflower planting, and bird feeding locations.
Construction is expected to commence by November of this year and will take six months to complete.
Describing the scheme as a “game changer” for the village Councillor Ger Carthy said the number of motorists speeding in Tagoat was more than the 63 pc cited by Mr Collins.
“We’re all well aware of the number of collisions and near misses there over the years,” he said. “80pc of traffic going through the village is breaking the speed limit and that includes hundreds of trucks.”
And, in his day job as a paramedic, Cllr Carthy had seen first-hand the impact of those speeds.
“I saw a car split in two halves at one accident - engine and front seats on side of the road, the rest of the car on the other.”