Why was there no Traffic Impact Assessment (T.I.A.) carried out or called for?
If the site goes above 5,000 square metres it is required.
This factory plan is for 4,800 so it is under the threshold, but Dept. of Transport guidelines state:
“it is necessary to decide which developments should be subject to T.I.A.. One of the simplest ways to do this is to set thresholds above which a T.I.A. is automatically required. This does not mean that the occasional sensitive site that does not meet these thresholds should not be subject to T.I.A. if considered appropriate”.
This site is only marginally short of the threshold and definitely should have had the Traffic Impact Assessment imposed on it. That should have been a minimum requirement from Cork County Council.
The daily traffic movements at the factory are stated as:
1. 80 Car movements
2. 12 HGV (6 X 2) movements
3. 92 Vehicle movements daily (just under the 100 maximum T.I.A. threshold).
Safety Hazards on the Baltimore Road:
County council require 65 metres sight lines at factory entrances in both directions.
This can’t be achieved in western direction as sight line crosses over front of gardens of adjoining properties.
The major concern here is that traffic coming from Baltimore direction will not have sufficient stopping distance (as required by DMURS, which are the national standards) to react to vehicles exiting from the proposed development.
All factory traffic will have to pass through Skibbereen (up to 6 X 20 – 40 tonne trucks daily once factory is operational) carrying raw materials.
If you think that Skibbereen is a good location for such a development, please let us know and why.
If you think Skibbereen should be trying to attract businesses and companies that do not require the transport of goods and raw materials, we think so too and we cannot understand why Cork County Council have rezoned a green belt piece of land for such an unsympathetic development.
There is nothing about the local infrastructure, traffic systems, or Skibbereen town centre that suggests this is the type of development that is a good fit for Skibbereen and West Cork. In fact, it is probably the worst development that could have been chosen.