Residents demand Cork bus lane be scrapped due to accidents
Wilton Road Residents Association has asked Local Government Minister Simon Coveney to intervene in a bid to improve road safety on the Wilton road before someone is killed.
“We have been raising these concerns for almost a decade but they have been ignored,” said residents’ spokesman John Leahy.
“Most of the accidents are associated with the dangerous and inappropriate design characteristics of the bus lane and particularly with the junction at Wilton Gardens.
The whole thing is a mess and requires urgent action and that’s why we’ve asked Minister Coveney to intervene.”
Wilton Rd, close to Cork University Hospital (CUH), the Bon Secours Hospital, UCC, and CIT, is one of the city’s busiest access routes, with up to 8m vehicle movements a year.
Despite concerns of gardaí and residents, a city-bound bus lane, for use during peak morning and evening hours, was installed in 2003 between CUH and Dennehy’s Cross.
An analysis by gardaí shows there was an average of 16 accidents on the road reported to them every year since then.
A further analysis of accidents between CUH and Dennehy’s Cross shows that 11 were reported to gardaí in 2012, eight in 2013, and ten in 2012.
The most common reasons were side impacts caused by city-bound vehicles moving from the right lane into the left lane, and glancing off vehicles inside them.
Another common cause was the rear-ending of vehicles at the junction of Wilton Rd and Wilton Gardens, where traffic merges and motorists got confused about the bus lane.
Gardaí said motorists get confused approaching Dennehy’s Cross, and jump lanes to ensure they are in the correct lane to proceed to the city, or turn left or right.
Several minor accidents have occurred at the junction of Wilton Gardens, as motorists sought to turn right onto Wilton Rd.
Speed has also been cited as a concern, with surveys in 2011 and 2014 showing that more than 20% of the road’s users — 4,000 a day or 1.5m a year — broke the 50km/h speed limit.
Two vehicles were clocked at more than 100km/h; three were over 125km/h; and three broke the 135km/h mark.
Mr Leahy said residents have suggested “simple, cost-effective solutions”, including scrapping the bus lane and installing lights at Wilton Gardens, but nothing has changed.
He said that, given the 60% increase in road deaths in the Cork area last year, City Hall must act before there is a fatality on the road.
Councillor John Buttimer (FG) said he has facilitated several meetings between residents and city officials over the years, but there has been little progress.
“There is a traffic management issue here. It’s time now to scrap the bus lane on a trial basis and install the lights at Wilton Gardens to see if that can improve the situation,” he said.
