Pedestrian crossing near roundabout in Portlaoise causing safety concerns

A PADESTRIAN crossing in Portlaoise that was erected some years ago to prevent children from a nearby housing estate from running straight across the road, was asked to be removed at a meeting of local councillors.

Cllr Barry Walsh proposed the motion, at the council's March meeting, which was seconded by the cathaoirleach of Portlaoise Municipal District Council cllr Paddy Buggy.

Cllr Walsh said the reason why he was asking for the crossing to be removed was because: “A few residents around the area approached me telling me that the traffic coming off the roundabout is very quick and it can be difficult to get across the road at times. The lines on the road indicating the crossing are faded as well. They are asking for an alternative solution (to the pedestrian crossing).” 

Cllr Caroline Dwane opposed the removal or relocation of the crossing.

She said: “There’s a history in this area. I have no doubt the intentions of the motion is well-founded, but I recall years ago before there was a roundabout or a pedestrian crossing there on the road. Myself and the late (cllr) Jerry Lodge lobbied for years to try and get a pedestrian crossing put there. What was happening was children were coming from Rossvale, particularly on bicycles and were shooting right across the road. People were also coming out of the estate to the Cedar Clinic across the road and had to stand on a little crossing island that was in the middle of the road. It was absolutely lethal. We badgered the council for years to do something about it. Eventually we got the roundabout and the pedestrian crossing.” 

However, cllr Dwane Stanley said: “People were still going to the corner of the estate and crossing over the road and wouldn’t use the pedestrian crossing. The pedestrian crossing was deliberately moved away from the roundabout to force children and people to use it. The only thing that stopped people from crossing straight across the road was when we put up the railings along the corner of the estate. Once the railings went up, it made the people coming from the estate go down and use the crossing. After years of work, we got something, that in my view actually worked and I wouldn’t like to see that work undone.” Cllr Dwane Stanley said that she has spoken with the chairperson of the residents’ association in Rossvale and “they haven’t heard anything about this or have been made aware of any request that has been made for the pedestrian crossing to be removed or to be relocated. I certainly would not be in favour because for years I witnessed children darting right across the road from that estate and elderly people unable to cross there. I don’t think that it’s an ideal situation where pedestrian crossings are located right beside roundabouts, but I would hate to see it removed and anything happen.” 

Cllr Walsh said the reason why the issue was bought to his attention was because “there was a near miss at the junction. Somebody was driving very fast around the roundabout. It might not be necessary to relocate the pedestrian crossing, perhaps there is a way of slowing down traffic coming around it? I too do not agreed with pedestrian crossing immediately after roundabouts. It’s the same down at the Timahoe Road (junction and roundabout off James Fintan Lalor Avenue), that’s an accident waiting to happen. We need something (for Rossvale junction), whether its signage or more lights. There was a near miss and there definitely is an issue there. We may not be able to control people’s driving behavior but maybe we might be able to slow them down. I hope a solution can be found because I don’t want to see an accident happen there.” 

Cllr Dwane Stanley said that over the years, “there have been a lot of signage knocked down at that (Rossvale) roundabout. The roundabout is very small. But the pedestrian crossing was put in specifically for a reason and that was to get children away from the corner of the roundabout.”