A Laois County Councillor has tabled a motion for the Council to install bollards and markings in Mountrath, following a spate of illegal parking.

Independent Mountrath Cllr James Kelly has asked that Laois County Council provide bollards and markings on the footpath and road on the entrance to Wallis Street Mountrath to address the issue of illegal parking.

"We have the new development on Wallace street, which is causing a lot of issues with the locals," Cllr Kelly explained.

Pictured: Shannon street in Mountrath, which features a junction for the Link road and another for Wallace Street

"Issues over parking have been ongoing for a long time. We have the library there and we had the Credit Union, and our own staff would have parking at the back of the library. 

"It has turned into a free for all, and we have a few bollards coming in off Shannon street into Wallace street, but there is another section there where we need five or six more bollards. At the moment, the bylaws which we all have championed and put in place, are not working now. Free for all parking has come back into the town. 

"They know the day and the hour that the traffic warden is going to be there, and that's a resource issue as well because we only have two traffic wardens and they are finding it hard enough to do what they have to do. 

"But we are gone back to people now parking in the town again, and we need to get more action on this, and enforce the bylaws that we have. I have been approached by a number of businesses again, and they have said that it has gone back to the old ways," Cllr Kelly said.

Pictured: cars parked outside businesses in Mountrath's busy town centre. Photo: Google Maps, 2021

"Vehicles are being parked outside of businesses all day, obviously people are going to Dublin and even the employees are beginning to park in the town again because there is no alternative, but we have bylaws."

Senior District Engineer with the Council, Mr Rory O'Callaghan responded that the Area Office will address the parking issue at the Wallis Street junction with Shannon street, and will meet with the Cllr on site.

This motion was seconded by Fine Gael Cllr Conor Bergin, who raised the issue of locals parking in spaces reserved for residents.

"As Cllr Kelly says, it is very congested there. But traffic even on to the link road where the maisonettes were put in a few years ago, there was parking put in for residents, and there is parking being taken by people that is meant for the residents, which is unfortunate," Cllr Bergin said.

"It's a very busy junction there, so anything that can be done to alleviate parking there would be much welcomed," he said.

Independent Cllr Ollie Clooney supported this motion, saying that traffic wardens 'would need to be magicians' to keep on top of the incidents of illegal parking.

Pictured: Cars park haphazardly on Wallace street, behind Mountrath's library. Photo: Google Maps

"It isn't being enforced, and we have this issue in Durrow too. The vans are being left there and it's back to stage one," Cllr Clooney slammed.

"When the signs went up first it was a great success, but now people feel like there is nobody coming to police it, so it's back to square one and it's not good enough.

"I think that if we have bylaws, they should be enforced, signs are no good on their own, you need a bit of the stick as well. Hopefully something can be done," Cllr Clooney finished. 

Rathdowney Fine Gael Cllr John King weighed in on the issue, calling for a solution.

"What is happening across the two busy roads, is that people are carpooling and parking their cars in towns, they feel that they can chance leaving the car and going away," he said.

"If they are fined, they might not chance it a second time. Something has to be done," Cllr King finished.

This motion was tabled at the April sitting of Laois County Council's Borris-in-Ossory / Mountmellick Municipal District.

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