No speed ramps for Laois village despite fears for local wheelchair user

Laois County Council has refused to install speed ramps to slow traffic in a Laois village despite concerns from locals.

Councillor Seamus McDonald called on Laois County Council to install traffic calming measures, specifically speed ramps, at Glenbarrow in Rosenallis.

The Fianna Fáil councillor highlighted speeding issues in Glenbarrow at the July meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick MD and particularly noted one residential road in the area which is unlit and posing problems for its residents, especially a local wheelchair user.

“There’s hundreds of cars there every day of the week. There’s now a young man using a wheelchair who uses that road to go up and down to look after his father. At this stage, he’s afraid to go out on the road. Would a couple of ramps not be a remedy to it?” Cllr McDonald said.

However, the MD Area Office stated that the provision of speed ramps on unlit roads will not be considered as it goes against policy.

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Cllr McDonald said he was disappointed with such a reply and questioned what can be done to slow down vehicles on the road which sees a lot of traffic from people visiting the Glenbarrow Waterfall.

He insisted: “It’s a serious issue there at the moment. It draws in a lot of people with tourism.”

It was agreed that the MD Area Office would visit the site and assess other potential solutions.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme