Campaign rumbles on for footpath at railway crossing in Laois

A 16-YEAR campaign led by deputy Willie Aird and cllr Catherine Fitzgerald bore fruit in 2021, when Irish Rail relented to their demands and installed a pedestrian crossing/footpath on one side of the railway line at Fr Browne Avenue in Portlaoise.

At that time, local councillors expressed satisfaction with the work and called for a footpath on the other side.

They were informed by council engineer Wes Wilkinson that CIE management “are looking at an alternative solution (to providing a footpath on the other side). They are looking at redesigning the crossing because it's the entrance to the (sleeper) depot.” 

 Since then, nothing appears to have happened.

Now, four years on, cllr Tommy Mulligan has taken up the baton in an attempt to convince Irish Rail to provide a pedestrian crossing/footpath across the other side of the road.

At the February meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District, cllr Mulligan proposed that Laois County Council ‘request Irish Rail to install a walkway at the unattended railway crossing on the Old Knockmay Road, similar to the walkway on the opposite side of the road’.

In a written reply to the motion, director of services Simon Walton stated that the council has previously corresponded with Irish Rail on the issue and would contact them again.

“So this has come up before, has it?” asked cllr Mulligan.

Mr Walton said: “In recent years there have been some embellishments on the other side. While we had sought enhancement on both sides, that hasn’t materialised yet.” 

Mr Wilkinson told cllr Mulligan that the side of the road on which the proposed footpath would be sited (along Fr Browne Avenue) was the “subject of an examination from their (Irish Rail) point of view in terms of redesigning that area, and that they had a bigger scheme that they were looking at”.

Cllr Mulligan said: “The issue is the unmanned railway crossing along the stretch of road from Telfords to Glanbia. The footpath reaches a fence and you have to step out into the road and go around the fence of the railway line to step back onto a footpath.

“It’s an extremely busy road with a high volume of vehicles and lorries. A lot of cars also travel at speed. It’s a serious health and safety issue. A lot of elderly residents live along Old Knockmay Road. As well as that, a lot of walkers and runners use that road. It’s a popular route. It’s a death trap. There’s going to be a serious accident, if not a fatality, if this is not resolved. We should press on with this and be firm with Irish Rail to provide a safety measure.” 

 Cllr Mulligan said there was a stile at that location years ago and “it was removed and never replaced. I don’t know what the rationale was behind that. It doesn’t make any sense. If Irish Rail could put a crossing on one side, why couldn’t it put a crossing on the other?” 

 Concurring with cllr Mulligan, cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said: “The speed of the traffic along that road is absolutely lethal. It’s a very busy walking route.” 

 “Myself and Willie (Aird) have been at this for years and years and years,” said cllr Catherine Fitzgerald. 

“We found Irish Rail very difficult to deal with. Getting the one footpath was massive at the time. There were years and years and years of meetings and letters. I fully support the motion and hopefully there will be a change of mind from Irish Rail.”