Portlaoise residents slam new pedestrian crossing as 'extremely dangerous'
The entrance road to a housing estate in Portlaoise that has been redesigned by Laois County Council's roads team is now slammed as "extremely dangerous" with accidents warned between drivers and pedestrians and e-scooters.
Beechfield is a mature housing estate close to the town centre off the Mountmellick N80 road. The road has had many hundreds more houses built off it since Beechfield, with a large population who walk, cycle and scooter across the junction to the town.
Beechfield entrance before the works.
However residents "now believe it's an accident waiting to happen".
So says Portlaoise Municipal District Cathaoirleach, Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald who urges a rethink by Laois County Council. She tabled a motion to the October meeting of the district.
"Residents now consider the junction to be extremely dangerous. There was no accident history at this estate in or out. They now believe there is, especially for pedestrians and e-scooters.
"Cars must drive onto the ramp of the pedestrian crossing to get a clear view of the Mountmellick Road. There is a high wall on one side and high trees on the other. It's a dangerous and confusing situation. They respectfully ask Laois County Council to review this crossing," Cllr Fitzgerald said.
She said that "the answer is no" but she does not accept this.
"It's not fair on the people who have lived there all their lives," she said.
Senior engineer Diarmuid Donohue defended the new design.
"Beechfield entrance was redesigned to improve the safety of pedestrians crossing the road. Previously the entrance was 20 metres wide and has now been reduced to 8 metres, with vehicular access maintained. The works comply with current design standards," he said.
Cllr Marie Tuohy said she drives into Beechfield every day, and agrees with Cllr Fitzgerald about the issue.