No money for pedestrian crossing for wheelchair users in Laois ‘totally wrong’

A local councillor has said he “can’t accept” that a badly needed pedestrian crossing for wheelchair users in a Laois town cannot be put in due to no money being available.

Cllr James Kelly previously sought a new pedestrian crossing for Patrick Street in Mountrath at last month’s Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick MD meeting. Laois County Council told him at the time that the site would be assessed but there was no room in the budget for the works.

The Independent councillor raised the issue again at the July meeting of the MD, and demanded that it be looked into as a road safety issue.

“As we all know, that’s a very busy road. The council has acknowledged the fact that following the assessment, the infrastructure and upgrades are required at the location to ensure full accessibility compliance and I got the standard reply then that there’s no budget available for the works,” Cllr Kelly said.

“I think this is a much more serious issue than no budget being available for these works because it’s a road traffic issue and a pedestrian issue.”

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He highlighted that the road currently impedes wheelchair users and those with mobility issues due to a lack of a safe and level crossing.

“I raised the issue before about a person in a wheelchair that couldn’t get up off the road onto the footpath and somebody from a truck had to get out of the truck and help that person onto the path,” Cllr Kelly argued.

However, Laois County Council again reiterated that there is no budget for the works, although the MD Office agreed to meet with Cllr Kelly on the site to discuss the issues.

“I need this done as a matter of urgency because I can’t accept the fact that there’s no budget for this. There’s a bit of work to be done. The tactile paving is not right there either, it’s just totally wrong,” Cllr Kelly insisted.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme