Traffic safety works planned on road to Laois secondary schools
More work is being planned by Laois County Council on a Portlaoise road beset with school traffic jams.
Two secondary schools share a campus on the Borris Road Portlaoise, the same road serving with many hundreds of recently build houses.
Scoil Chríost Rí and St Mary's CBS opened a decade ago with almost 2,000 pupils between them but no carpark for parents.
The increasingly busy and developed Borris road had already received extensive redesigns after the schools opened, to improve driver and pedestrian safety. However problems remain with traffic jams particular at school closing time, and increased traffic on the narrow country roads near the area.
More roadworks are on the way, if the council is successful in getting national money to pay for them.
Laois County Council confirmed it is planning two separate road improvements, at the December meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District.
The first is to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
"The council has submitted an application for funding under Active Travel to the National Transport Authority for improvements on the Borris Road. A response to this is expected in early 2023," engineer Diarmuid Donohoe said.
The second is for the junction of two local roads in Rathevan.
"An application for funding under the Low Cost Safety Improvement Works Programme 2023 has been made to the Department of Transport in respect of the junction of the L-6136-0 and L-2133-59 at Rathevan Portlaoise," engineer Wes Wilkinson added.
Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald had tabled a motoin to the meeting asking the council to request a safety scheme for the Rathevan and Rathnamanagh road, and give an update on the measures proposed for the CBS and Scoil Chríost Rí campus.
"It is a very busy area with two secondary schools. We've been looking for this for a long time. I am constantly getting requests from parents. It is impossible for children to cycle or walk. If you could get even a temporary arrangement. There's cars everywhere, there is nowhere to go in fairness.
"Cars park up on the bike lanes, on paths, they have nowhere to go. Less and less people are going to cycle. This is taking so long. We got little bollards which is great," she said.
Cllr Willie Aird said that many motorists are using a junction further out into the countryside, creating a traffic problem.
"And Laois County Council has granted permission for more houses. Traffic lines on the junctions can't move. Back 20 years ago there was no problem. Now they are all using these junctions. If you come down Colliers Lane you could be backed up the whole way in the morning, so people take the alternative route," he said.
Mr Wilkinson said that hopefully the funding application to the NTA will get "an early response in 2023".