Stop go traffic system suggested for 'bottleneck' Portlaoise street

Parked cars on a narrow residential road in Portlaoise town centre are causing traffic jams, with a possible solution suggested.

A single lane stop-go system on the Borris Road at St John’s Square, is worth a try, says Cllr Paddy Buggy.

He tabled a motion to the October meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District, but it didn’t get a big welcome.

“What’s the worst can happen. If there was a burst mains there you’d put in a stop go. Why not try it out for a month, it’s not going to cost a fortune. Something has to be done, it’s a bottleneck in the town,” Cllr Buggy said.

He describes the problem on the street.

“When these houses were built, they were all that was on the road, now they’re still building houses and there’s two excellent schools. The traffic is incredible.

“Two cars were damaged in recent weeks. I don’t think it’s fair to residents. They’re taking their life in their hands to come out and get into their cars. They’re terrified. Some are quite elderly and they deserve better. There’s a lot of selfish drivers out there who don’t care.

“We need to either have a stop go, or one way, or widened, obviously we would need to buy some gardens and move footpaths.

“I know people will say there’ll be backups of traffic at the church and the Borris road, but those people have alternative routes.

“It’s a serious health and safety issue, lots of people use St Mary’s Hall and need to travel to it in a safe way.

He is disappointed that his motion on the same request almost two years ago has received the same answer, that the issue will be referred to the council’s road design team.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan seconded the motion and agrees it is “a major road safety issue”.

“When residents started living in those houses there were no housing estates out the Borris Road. It’s come to a stage now where there’s no way two cars can park each side.

“We have to protect those residents. They are in danger getting in and out of their cars and there have been a few near accidents. I don’t know the answer. Your suggestion is worth trying, but there definitely safety measures needed on that stretch of road,” he said.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said she is unsure if a stop go is the answer.

“When people in John’s Square and Dr Murphys bought their houses, there was only maybe one car per house. Unfortunately residents have nowhere to park only outside their houses.

“I’d love to see us sitting with the engineer and some of the residents, to see what might be possible. We can’t magic away the fact that people need to be able to park outside their properties. They’ve no access around the back. Maybe get a safety audit done. It’s not going to be an easy one to fix.

“I had people before asking for double yellow lines on the opposite side of the road to where they were living. You couldn’t do that. It’s very controversial. Residents need to be in the room,” she said.

Director of Services Simon Walton agreed to consider getting a road safety audit.

“I agree with the sentiment of the motion, but the road is narrow, it’s a busy stretch. If you provide temporary traffic lights, where would they be located? That itself would take up a number of parking spaces. It’s a complex problem and that’s probably part of the reason why it hasn’t been dealt with,” he said.

“Just because something is complicated doesn’t mean it should be brushed under the carpet,” Cllr Buggy told him.

“That’s not what I said. We deal with hundreds of motions every year in the fairest most reasonable way we can, having regard to wishes of members and budgets. Irrespective of the measure there will be knock on consequences to residents and we have to be mindful of that when we’re suggesting measures,” Mr Walton replied.