An Athlone councillor is concerned about the safety on the road to the popular Coosan Point, Independent Westmeath reports.
Westmeath-councilman Jamie Moran, brought up the issue at a meeting of the Athlone-Moate Municipal District this month. The local authority answered him, saying it would need to acquire a “substantial” amount of land if they were to redevelop the road by installing footpaths between Coosan cemetery and Coosan Point.
Cllr Moran said a number of local residents had been in touch with him to express their concerns about the busy road.
The other councillors supported him, with another councillor suggesting “a complete survey of the road.”
The road carries a lot of traffic and the new national headquarters for the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, as well as the upgraded base for the Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat, are located in the area, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke pointed out.
“The ideal would be that we would have some kind of segregated pathway or cycleway to allow people to safely get from Coosan Church, or the graveyard, all the way to Coosan Point,” he said.
Cllr Louise Heavin said the Coosan Point road would be ideal for examination by a new ‘Active Travel’ design team which was being established with a focus on Athlone and Mullingar.