Long wait to cross the road safely to Portlaoise GAA grounds
A new footpath is leading children to Portlaoise GAA grounds, but they will not be able to cross a busy road safely for some time to come.
Laois County Council installed the path that ends across the road from the club, but other works must be done before a pedestrian crossing can be installed.
It is on the Rathleague Road, linking motorway junctions in Portlaoise, which has an 80km/h speed limit making a pedestrian crossing potentially dangerous to use.
Cllr Willie Aird asked for an update at a recent meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District.
He heard that a team is designing traffic calming measures required first before a pedestrian crossing can be installed.
Those designs were expected to be complete by August, after which the council say they will arrange for the works.
He was happy with the answer.
"That's great news. I sincerely thank the roads department for the excellent job. It's badly needed. Children are crossing the road in their droves," Cllr Aird said.
He suggests a joint cutting of the ribbon with Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald who has also been calling for the crossing.
She raised it at the May 2023 meeting, asking for bylaws to be amended to permit a crossing.
At that time the council said it may have to wait on a national review of speed limits, as the Rathleague Road is an 80km zone which does not allow pedestrian crossings. They said they had carried out a safety audit of the new path, with Director of Services Simon Walton agreeing a pedestrian crossing was a "final piece of the jigsaw".