Push to install Portlaoise footpath to Rock of Dunamase

Efforts by a Portlaoise councillor to get a footpath from the town to the Rock of Dunamase continued this month, but the project is a distant plan.

Laois County Council has said while a lot of people walk on the Ballyclider road for exercise, they must first focus on installing footpaths within the town's speed limit.

The famous landmark is 6km outside of the town's limit, however Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald is adamant that a footpath is required.

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"I can understand that you must focus first within the speed limit. However so many people use this road, they walk and cycle out to the foot of the Rock of Dunamase. It would be a great facility to have. We should be doing it. It is used regularly and it is not really safe. People walk and cycle in the layby. From a safety point of view it has to be looked at," she said.

She tabled a motion to the March meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District, asking the council to look for state funding to install a walkway and cycle way on the Ballyclider Road.

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Cllr Fitzgerald last tabled a motion on the topic in December, when the council said it would be included in their discussion with the National Transport Authority to draw up a Laois county wide cycle network plan. 

This time, engineer Diarmuid Donohue said that it is acknowledged that the Ballyclider road is a popular walking route.

"The proposed footpath/cycleway will be included in the provision and improvement of pedestrian and cycling facilities for the wider Portlaoise area. However in the first instance, as required by NTA, a targeted approach for the provision of such infrastructure inside existing speed limits is a priority," he said.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley seconded the motion.