Safety fears as families forced onto road at Craughwell level crossing

Children and families are being forced onto the roadway at a busy Craughwell level crossing, prompting calls for urgent safety measures to protect pedestrians.

Published 30th Sep 2026, 13:57 BST Iconic Children and families are being forced onto the roadway at a busy Craughwell level crossing, prompting calls for urgent safety measures to protect pedestrians. Concerns have been raised over pedestrian safety at a level crossing in Craughwell, with calls for bollards or other measures to protect children and families using the route.

Cllr Laurie Harney (FG) says he has been trying for several months, with the assistance of council engineers, to have CIE put safety measures in place at the level crossing on the western side of Craughwell village.

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The difficulty arises because the pedestrian paths are approximately 60 metres apart. Pedestrians must leave the footpath and move onto the roadway to cross.

Mr Harney believes this is a serious safety issue because approaching motorists may not be expecting pedestrians to be walking on the road.

€900k speed sign bill branded ‘absolutely crazy’ as Loughrea campaign intensifies Concern over ‘extraordinary’ e-scooter speeds in Galway as new laws take effect “There is a path coming into the level crossing and a path going away from it, but they are about 60 metres apart,” he explained.

“Pedestrians have to go out onto the roadway and traffic can’t really see them. You need bollards or something there for safety to signal that there is a passage for pedestrians.”

He said the problem is particularly concerning because the crossing is on a route regularly used by children and parents travelling to and from school.

Mr Harney described seeing parents bringing young children to school while also pushing younger children in prams.

The route is also used to access a number of important community facilities, including the athletics track and children’s playground.

Galway City sees surge in home seekers as numbers rise Because of the layout of the crossing, pedestrians can be forced several yards out into the roadway before they can reach the footpath.

“They are moved out past the level of the path about five or six yards into the roadway,” he said.

“This is an unusual level crossing. There aren’t too many of them that are about 60 metres wide.”

Cllr Harney said he understands that the response from CIE is that placing bollards on a level crossing is not normally done.

However, he argues that the particular circumstances in Craughwell should be considered rather than relying solely on standard practice.

He is calling for CIE to examine what safety measures could be introduced to clearly mark and protect the pedestrian route across the area.

“You get the answer, ‘this is not what we do’, but those roads were made 100 years ago,” he said.

“Things have changed a lot, particularly in the last ten years. I am going to keep annoying people about it.