Fears of major crash at faulty Laois traffic lights
Faulty traffic lights at the busy junction in Abbeyleix have raised concern over a potentially serious accident. File image
GARDAÍ and county councillors have appealed for faulty traffic lights in Abbeyleix to be fixed, amid fears of “a major accident” at a busy junction.
Serious concern was raised at a council meeting over malfunctioning lights in the town centre, at the junction of Main Street and the Ballinakill road.
Cllr John Joe Fennelly highlighted the issue this week, when he said the lights often skip the green settings twice in succession for the Ballinakill road, particularly between 2pm and 4pm each day.
As a result, traffic is backed up and drivers become so frustrated that they are tempted to take a dangerous chance and pull out at the junction.
“I am afraid of a major accident there,” Cllr Fennelly told the November meeting of Portlaoise municipal district.
He asked the council to replace the current control panel on the traffic lights at the junction, to allow for an even flow of traffic.
Cllr Fennelly said it appeared to be the case that, when someone pressed the button for the pedestrian crossing, the lights skipped on every second turn for Ballinakill.
He explained: “I was at the lights twice yesterday and they skipped the green settings twice for the Ballinakill road. It happens mostly between 2pm and 4pm and traffic is backed up as far as the hospital or the garda station some days.”
He added: “The guards were on to me about it, saying that it is very frustrating for drivers there and they are concerned about it. It happens only when someone presses the pedestrian light, so there must be something wrong with the control panel.”
He was supported by Cllr Barry Walsh, who commented: “It’s important to get this right, as Abbeyleix is a very busy town and we need to avoid any frustration for drivers.”
Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said she also experienced the problem at the traffic lights and she hoped the malfunction would be resolved.
In a written response, the council’s road design section said they had engaged with their electrical contractor and had assessed the lights numerous times, as well as bringing in specialist contractors.
The response said: ‘The configurations were checked and timings analysed. The timings for the main line N77 (Durrow-Portlaoise) are set for longer, due to the volume of traffic using the main line. There were no faults found in the controller programme. We will continue to monitor these traffic lights and will consider upgrading the equipment if necessary.’
