Pedestrians in danger at Fairgreen

The closure of a supermarket on the Mountmellick road in Portlaoise has caused an increase of pedestrians crossing the busy N80 to the Topaz garage, according to Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley.

She is calling for a pedestrian crossing between the Fairgreen estate and the garage.

“This is very dangerous. It is a very built up estate, and people are constantly trying to get across the road,” she said.

She asked for the pedestrian crossing at the May meeting of Portlaoise municipal district.

Cllr Dwane Stanley is concerned that an accident will occur.

“I was walking there last week and noticed a signpost on the path that had been knocked by a car, with tyre tracks on the path, that will give you an idea of the danger,” she told the Leinster Express.

The reply from roads engineer Farhan Naseim is that there are three “uncontrolled pedestrian crossings” at the location.

“Road design will carry out a further review of the location to examine the pedestrian flow,” he said.

The N80 road to Tullamorewas controversially diverted to bend through the housing estate when it was built during the building boom. There was a fatal car accident at the spot in 2008, when a speeding car crashed into the side of an apartment block there.