Roscommon County Council has paused roadworks in Frenchpark village this week following recent criticism from local residents.
Residents in the area had raised concerns that the new-look road layout had left the village short of parking spaces while Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane described the project as “a monstrosity”.
In a statement this week, the local authority confirmed it “has paused works pending a further external review to ensure all safety concerns are addressed in accordance with standard procedures”. The review is expected to take two weeks.
The Council’s statement also said that a previous review had highlighted concerns around the approach speeds of vehicles from the Boyle direction on the R361.
“Roscommon County Council acknowledges the scheme represents a change to the layout of the streetscape at this location. To deliver these safety improvements, a small quantity of on-street parking has been reassigned,” the statement read.
“The proposed scheme, due to its size and nature, does not require Part 8 planning permission and therefore was not advertised to the public.
“The Council’s Roads and Transportation Unit in response prepared a design in accordance with the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS). These measures seek to reduce the speed of oncoming traffic while also making the junction with the L5638 safer for vulnerable road users”.
The local authority confirmed that following the commencement of works, local residents and business owners expressed concerns to members of staff of Boyle Municipal District but said that many of these concerns had since been addressed.
“The new Frenchpark scheme”, the local authority emphasised, “was designed to maximise street car parking that could be facilitated within the area available to the design team”.
