Tramore’s Ring Road has become a focal point on weekend nights “for lunatic motorists doing all kinds of exotic turns”, according to the Mayor of the town, Cllr. Joe Conway.

Speaking at the Town Council’s March meeting on Tuesday of last week, he said the antics of the drivers concerned had left a lot of the roadside grass area rutted. The behaviour to which he referred usually occurred between 11.30 and 1.00 a.m., he said.

Tramore’s local representatives often claim their town gets unfavourable treatment compared to Dungarvan and in that context the Mayor drew attention to the fact that the local Ring Road was about the same length as that of the West Waterford town. Yet only about a hundred metres of the Dungarvan road was not kerbed while whole sections in Tramore were open to drivers so inclined to take their cars onto the grass and do their worst in terms of handbrake turns and “doughnuts”.

He also said parents parking on the grass outside the Holy Cross School had left the place in a complete morass. Additionally, some people were using the side of the road to showcase cars for sale. And there was also the risk of attracting “encampments”, he warned, so kerbing was vital.

However, Area Engineer Jane O’Neill told him there were differences between the N25 running by Dungarvan, which was part of the national roads network, and Tramore’s Ring Road which was “regional”. For that reason there was significant maintenance money available for Dungarvan and the limited amount provided for Tramore had been exhausted. Besides, she said, a fully kerbed roadway would have knock-on effects in terms of drainage. As for the cars for sale on the roadside, the County Council had the power to seize them and would do so.