A hospice in Cork has stopped motorists 'rat-running' through its grounds.
Management at Marymount Hospice in Curraheen, Cork, say they had to divert motorists away from its most-used vehicular entrance off the Ballincollig bypass towards its ‘official’ main entrance off Waterfall Rd after "significant safety issues" emerged.
“The hospice grounds must be safe - privacy and dignity of our residents and patients using our grounds must take precedence,” a spokesman said.
The campus opened in 2011 with a planning condition that its main entrance be via Waterfall Rd - a difficult entrance to find for visitors to the area. Most people have used its more accessible 'secondary' entrance off the bypass. There has always been a clear no-through road sign there.
But Marymount said the sign was disregarded, with increasing volumes of through-traffic creating "significant safety issues" on grounds designed to be a tranquil environment for residents and patients:
Despite trying clearer signage and speed bumps, this issue continued and in the best interests and safety of all our patients and visitors we had to find an alternative solution.
The spokesman said the hospice regrets any inconvenience caused but noted that since the measures were introduced earlier this month, there has been a "noticeable decrease in unsafe driving" on site, with more families and patients now walking its grounds safely.