This article is from page 33 of the 2010-02-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 33 JPG
A GRANDMOTHER picking up her grandchildren from school was one of the latest casualties on the coun- ty’s damaged roads.
Barbara Robinson was driving from Tullybrack Cross to Shragh when her car hit a large pothole, bounced off the road on to the ditch, and rolled over.
The car was a write-off, and Mrs Robinson escaped with minor inju- ries, some aches and a harsh realisa- tion of what could have been.
The frightened grandmother was left terrified but with a sense of relief that she was on her way to the school and that the children were not in the
ore
This accident has highlighted for many people the dangers of roads with uneven surfaces and hidden potholes.
John Robinson – Barbara’s husband – is one of a number of local people annoyed by the state of the roads.
“T usually go to pick up the chil- dren, but I was busy this day and asked Barbara to go,’ he said. ““When one of the neighbours came and said my wife was in an accident, I went down and saw the car. I was horror- struck.”
Local woman Nicola diLuici said that the road in question was danger- ous long before the freezing weather, although the sub-zero temperatures
did exasperate the problem.
The young mother of two said roads between ‘Tullybrack and Shragh and between Shragh and Monmore had buckled under the extra traffic endured during the laying of water pipes in Doonbeg late last spring. These roads were used as a detour for traffic during this time.
‘I drive this road six times a day to pick the children up from school. It is used by people working in Kilrush and the Doonbeg Golf Club, going to and from school and to Kilrush on business,” she said.
“The council did one section of re- surfacing after the waterworks and this is still perfect even after the frost, but they just filled the potholes
in the rest of the road and they have all risen again. We also have a prob- lem with subsidence,’ she said.
“I don’t feel we should have to pay road tax and then be expected to drive these roads. The west has been forgotten on all accounts,’ she added.
Ms diLuici said she is frustrated to hear from the council continuously that there is not enough money to do the road.