Manned pedestrian crossing needed outside Portlaoise school says councillor
Calls have been made for the upgrading or manning of the courtesy pedestrian crossing outside Scoil Bhríde along Harpur's, Lane in the Knockmay area of Portlaoise.
A PEDESTRIAN crossing is needed to be upgraded or manned at one of the largest primary schools in Laois.
According to cllr Tommy Mulligan there is a demand for the pedestrian crossing at Scoil Bhríde, along Harpur’s Lane in Knockmay, Portlaoise to be upgraded or manned.
Giving his reasons, at the April meeting of councillors from the Portlaoise Municipal District Council why he felt that there is a need for the upgrade work to be carried out at the crossing, cllr Mulligan said: “At the moment there is a manned pedestrian crossing at one end of the school where there is a lollipop lady. But one is needed down further, where’s there’s a courtesy crossing. What the parents’ council, the school principal and the public are looking for is the upgrading of the courtesy crossing, freshly painted road markings and signs. Motorists do not seem to be aware that the courtesy crossing is there. The (roadside) barriers are there in place as well as the tactile paving, so it’s all ready to go.”
In a written reply to his request a spokesperson from the council’s road design/active travel department said that a preliminary design for Harpur’s Lane is being prepared with a view of upgrading and improving existing walking and cycling infrastructure in the area, adding: “As part of the process, a needs assessment will be carried out to determine appropriate pedestrian crossing location/s and this will be included in the design, as required.”
Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said she fully supports cllr Mulligan’s motion.
She said that she had raised similar motions relating to traffic and safety issues around the school over the years, “in fact a couple of years ago we got a road safety audit carried out in the area,” she said.
“It took about three months to complete and we were told that the findings of that audit would come back. When it did, we were told that we were looking at about €80,000 for the works. The unmanned (courtesy) crossing was one of the areas we had flagged up at that time, to get it manned.”
Commenting on pedestrian crossings around the county, the cathaoirleach of the district council cllr Paddy Buggy said: “I only recently noticed the little flashing lights on the ground across the pedestrian crossings in different parts of the county. I want to compliment whoever installed those. Because they are brilliant.”
