Transport « Thurles Information

In The Name Of God Who Needs Road Safety ?

Mother Nature badly let us down this year, well her and that interfering busybody and Chairman of the Road Safety Authority, Gay Byrne.

As a well respected Tipperary councillor, I feel it is my duty to remind you all that earlier this month Gay Byrne, accused the Government and in particular the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter, of having little or no interest in road safety. Mr Byrne said that the lack of emphasis on road safety by the Government in general had him downcast and completely depressed. He also said he believed that Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has about as much interest in road safety as Gay himself did in snipe shooting. Byrne said: “Last year was the most successful year in terms of fatalities but it looks like now, steadily before our eyes, all the gains we’ve made in the last six or seven years are being lost.”

Now Gay, while you might be the most famous of broadcasters in Irish history and have had more influence on changing life in this county, than certainly any of our Tipperary political leaders, road safety issues in this area are something you do not want to be getting involved in.

Understand Gay, due to those 15 days of dry weather back last July, Mother Nature, as she is normally wont to do, failed us miserably in hiding completely all our road signs from the public gaze this year. You must be familiar with the Shakespearian phrase “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” You see Gay if we were to make our road signs available to the public’s gaze; the next thing that would happen is an influx of those nosey tourists sniffing around.

Here in Thurles, thanks be to God, due to no proper Tourism funding, poor marketing and North Tipperary Tourism Company Ltd (NTTCL), we never have to worry about tourists, and it helps when we as councillors also do our bit in making it difficult to drive around, through the use of concealed and confusing road signs. You can see from one directional sign in our video above, we cut one kilometre out of the centre of North Tipperary County Councils measuring tape, in the hope that the extra 1km would prove just 1km to far for outsiders.

North Tipperary Tourism Company Ltd are helping also by printing a new brochure again this year. No one has told them about the Internet yet and they haven’t worked out that if no visitors actually come to Thurles, there is no one to pick up their poor quality publication. Certainly tour operators at junket trade shows are not interested in our humble offerings of Thurles “Home of Erin Foods,” latter which closed down some seven years ago. Ah yes we here as councillors manage to successfully confuse most of the more daring of our would be world wayfarers, by pretending we still have a factory called Erin Foods left in the town. I personally believe if its Bisto gravy, Oxo gravy or Campbell’s soup these people are looking for, let them find out the hard way, before moving on elsewhere, hopefully never to return.

Yes there are some misguided, easily led individuals who have been fooled into placing adverts on the Internet, but ask yourself Gay, without laughing, if you were looking for a good bed & breakfast near Thurles on the Internet, would you type into Google’s search engine the words “Cantata2.” or Bed & Breakfasts Thurles, in the hope of finding one?

Thank God for Section 46 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, which gives the Irish government an excuse for failing to use a Slash Hook around our local road signs, all in the interest of wildlife Health & Safety, during the months from February to September. What further proof do we need, yes “you sure can fool all the people all of the time.”

Just a thought; has anyone read a manual recently, explaining the operational mechanics of a Slash Hook and is there a Health & Safety Course available I wonder?

P/S. I hope my party colleagues Noel Coonan & Allan Kelly don’t see this, as they Key Fob Out and skip home early on some Friday evening. No I don’t think they will, sure they haven’t been seen or certainly contributed anything to Thurles since they were both elected.

Crash Reported Near Horse & Jockey

News of yet another serious vehicle crash has been reported occurring on the M8 Dublin – Cork motorway, this afternoon.

This is the second serious crash reported in this area within three days, with a two vehicle collision reported between Junction 5 at Two-Mile-Borris and Junction 6 at Horse and Jockey on August 21st last.

(Click on Image for larger definition.)

This afternoon’s crash also involved the call out of Emergency Services to the scene.

Picture showing the Emergency Services attending the accident scene was taken from a fly-over approximately one half mile from the village of Horse and Jockey, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

Photo courtesy photographer Michael Bannon.

M8 Dublin /Cork Road In Tipperary Closed

News just coming in states that the M8 Dublin – Cork Road is closed southbound between Junction 5 at Two-Mile-Borris and Junction 6 at Horse and Jockey, near Thurles in Co Tipperary.

The closure is understood to be due to a serious crash, involving two vehicles in the area.

Emergency services are at the scene and diversions are in place.

Motorists can anticipate serious delays.

Further Roads To Close In Thurles

Archerstown Bridge

Further temporary road closures have been announced for Thurles under the Roads Act 1993 – 2007 (Section 75 of the Roads Act 1993).

Notice has been given by North Tipperary County Council, making an Order closing the Mill Road at the Archerstown Bridge from the Archerstown Industrial Estate entrance and the Galboola Road.

The period of this closure is expected to be for two weeks with effect from August 19th 2013 until September 6th 2013.

During the stated two weeks these aforementioned roads will remain impassable to all vehicles on a 24 hour basis, while reconstruction work in this area remains ongoing.

The purpose of this closure, same which is unavoidable, is to facilitate the rehabilitation of the Archerstown Bridge, latter which was last year found to be in a dangerous and rapidly deteriorating condition.

Full diversions will be in place and clearly sign posted.

Residents are invited to use alternative routes via the N75 and N62, L4107, L4111, L8009 and L8008.

Tipperary Vehicle Registration Plate To Change

With effect from the 1st of January 2014, the vehicle registration plate of “T” for Tipperary will be introduced, following the merger of North and South County Co Councils next year.

In this regard regulations are now expected to be drafted to amend the vehicle registration number plates of three counties namely Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford.

Where a vehicle has been first brought into use in another country of origin and prior to the 1st of January 2014, and then subsequently is imported and registered here in Ireland after 1st January 2014, the current registration plates TS, TN, L, LK, W, and WD will continue to be used for these pre-2014 imported vehicles, thus maintaining the integrity of the present numbering system in place for all years prior to 2014.

These changes will not impact on either motor dealerships or motorists, as the registration numbers will continue to be assigned by the Revenue Commissioners at the time of registration of each newly purchased vehicle.