DUBLIN CITY COUNCILLORS at a Central Area Committee meeting today unanimously voiced their support for a road safety audit of Manor Street to be carried out, after a woman was fatally struck by a truck on the road yesterday.
The woman died after being hit by a truck while she was walking on the street at around 11.15am yesterday. The driver of the truck was uninjured but remains in shock.
Councillor Ray McAdam told The Journal that concerns had been raised about the street in Stoneybatter before yesterday’s tragic incident, and that he believes action needs to be taken “to minimise the risk of any further fatalities on this busy stretch”.
McAdam said that the woman who died was struck down on a “critical pinch point” where Manor Street narrows, and where a bus stop is also located, as well as a protected cycle lane.
“From what we know so far, a truck behind a bus pulled into the centre of the road while the woman was walking, and struck the woman down. The driver has told Gardaí that he did not initially know the truck had hit the lady, and he is in a terrible state of shock, that’s how bad it was.
“The Gardaí will be carrying out a full investigation and speaking to the relevant parties further, and this seems to have been a really tragic accident, but there is also a responsibility on the council to look at the road safety concerns here, in an effort to avoid an incident like this happening again,” McAdam, a Fine Gael councillor, said.
He added that the Busconnects plans will see the road improved down the line, but that local councillors believe action needs to be taken to improve safety on the street sooner rather than later.
“The accident took place at the narrowest point of Manor Street, where you have a bus lane and a traffic lane going northbound, and you then have one southbound lane of traffic because there’s usually cars parked on the bus lane, and there are a few issues that need to be examined.
“The area where the accident took place has been adjacent to major construction work for the last year. There has been a significant volume of construction traffic in and out of the area, and that has caused a further loss of lanes in a residential area that already has a heavy amount of traffic,” he said.
McAdam added that though construction work is not related to the accident that happened yesterday, it is contributing to the buildup of traffic in the area.
“When the council grants permission for a development to go ahead, there is a time lag before a contractor is appointed, and a traffic management plan is then approved by different council departments with little to no input from representatives.
“We are then left to point out the issues retroactively when the plan is already operational. Overall, it’s making the road less safe because people are walking out into the street when parts of the footpath are closed off for works to take place, so we need to tighten up our scrutiny of these traffic management plans,” he said.
McAdam, who chairs the local area planning committee, said that parents who have children in a creche on Manor Street have also raised concerns about pedestrian safety.
“It’s a very built up area, and concerns have been raised prior to this tragic incident. We now need to ensure we can have an urgent road safety audit to make Manor Street safer for everyone.
“It’s obviously too late on this occasion, a woman has lost her life, but there are changes we can make going forward,” he said.
Gardaí from the Bridewell Garda Station are appealing to anyone who may have information related to yesterday’s incident to come forward.
A garda spokesperson said: “Any road users or pedestrians who were on Manor Street, or the surrounding streets, this morning between 10.45am and 11.30am and who may have camera footage (including dash cam) is asked to make this available to investigating Gardaí.”
“Anyone with information in relation to this collision is asked to contact Bridewell Garda Station on 01 666 8200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station,” they added.
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