Many motorists are not observing the pedestrian crossing in Claregalway – leading to a number of near misses as a result.

Concerned residents in the village held a meeting over the weekend to voice their concerns over the matter and are asking the Gardaí to monitor the situation.

Local Cllr David Collins admitted it is a worrying situation with a lot of motorists simply ignoring the pedestrian crossing when passing through Claregalway.

The crossing has traffic lights on either side, but the village has become a traffic nightmare in recent years.

Even with the provision of the M17/M18 motorway, there are still mile-long tailbacks in the village and particularly in the evenings.

Cllr Collins stated that a meeting with a number of concerned residents in Claregalway have highlighted that there have been a lot of near misses for people using the pedestrian crossing near the local national school.

“The crossing allows people to cross from the nearby housing estates and the daycare service to the other side of the road where all the schools, community centre and church are located,” he said.

“They have said that the lights on the poles are not bright enough and do not provide an adequate signal for drivers to know that there is a pedestrian crossing.

“They also said that in the afternoon the lights are not seen because the sun makes them invisible.

“The residents have told me that there have been numerous near misses at the crossing where people have started to cross but because of the problem with the signals that the cars nearly hit some pedestrians.

“They have asked me to see if the lights be upgraded by Galway County Council to signal a pedestrian crossing. This is a really busy crossing. It is time now before anything serious happens at this junction for an upgrade of the lights,” he added.

Cllr Collins said that he has been in contact with the engineering staff from Galway County Council and they have informed him that they will investigate what can be done to assist with the upgrading of these Belisha beacons.

“I welcome this update and will be working closely with the engineering staff to try and resolve this issue for everyone that uses this crossing.”

Pictured: Cllr David Collins at the pedestrian crossing in Claregalway.