‘I've seen people nearly killed’ - Anger over cars parking on footpaths in Laois

The issue of parking blocking pedestrian and disability access on footpaths in Portarlington "needs attention" after being labelled "disgraceful" by one local mother with a buggy.

The practice of parking on footpaths on Upper Main Street, Cooltederry, Portarlington, the road between the Credit Union and Aldi, has been going on for years but people have been voicing their concern in recent weeks.

The video above was taken by the Leinster Express/Laois Live last week and captures 14 vehicles, including an articulated lorry, parked on the footpaths in the few hundred metres from the Crowe Lane junction to Aldi. In a number of instances on the Aldi side of the road, the footpath is completely blocked with barely enough room for a single pedestrian to pass.

ABOVE: Footpath almost completely blocked with parked car

A young mother walking with a buggy last week remarked that the issue was "disgraceful," pointing out that the illegal parking has been going on for years.

"I've lived here ten years and it's always been like this," she said, before adding, "I have to walk onto the road most mornings and I've seen elderly people nearly killed stepping out. How is a person in a wheelchair meant to go past that?" she said pointing to an SUV obstructing the footpath.

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Another man walking his dog said "nobody cares" as he made his way past two parked cars on the footpath. "It's been tolerated for years, the wardens don't come up here and the guards do nothing about it." A look at Google Street View which has captured images of the street every few years since 2009 shows the parking has been going on for at least those 16 intervening years.

Independent councillor in the town, Cllr Aidan Mullins, explained why the wardens don't visit that area of the town:

“That stretch of the street in town is not covered by the bye-laws. It’s only up as far as Bank of Ireland that the traffic wardens have jurisdiction," he said.

Cllr Mullins went on to say: “A lot of those cars (in the video on the Credit Union side) would be residents. The footpath there is probably wide enough to cater for most of those cars and still leave proper access for people with prams or buggies or people with disabilities. In other spots, there probably wouldn’t be.”

“Having said that, anywhere there’s traffic or cars parked on that stretch that are impeding pedestrians, the gardaí, under the Road Traffic Act, can intervene and take action there.”

According to the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, parking on a public footpath is illegal and can result in fixed charges, penalty points, or prosecution. The fine was increased from €40 to €80 in 2022 with the Minister for Transport at the time, Eamon Ryan, heralding the changes.

He said at the time: "Parking on footpaths puts vulnerable pedestrians, such as wheelchair users and those pushing buggies, at significant risk by forcing them off the footpath and into traffic. These increases should help improve the safety of all vulnerable road and footpath users, by creating a more effective deterrent to these specific forms of illegal parking."

Despite this, gardaí haven't taken action on the issue on this street in Portarlington, which they are required to do if the parking risk public safety. Figures show that there were just over 50 fixed charge penalty notices for parking on footpaths issued across both Laois and Offaly in 2024 - fewer than one a week across two counties. 14 vehicles were illegally parked on footpath on this one street in Portarlington last Monday.

Cllr Aidan Mullins said “there is no excuse” for drivers parking where they block access and pointed out the case of a blind man who “has a nightmare getting around the town,” adding that the issue “needs attention.”

When asked about the video showing a car (pictured above circled in red) on the Aldi side of the road almost completely blocking the footpath, Cllr Mullins said, “absolutely, that is an issue,” adding, “I walk it regularly and if you meet somebody coming the opposite direction, you have to stand behind the vehicle until they pass; there’s not room for two people. That is regular.”

He pointed out that gardaí may be taking a lenient view of the issue: “To be fair to the gardaí, they are probably cognisant of the fact there are residents there and are a bit lax in that respect.” Cllr Mullins also pointed out the lack of a garda presence generally in Portarlington.

“We don’t really have a garda presence in town which is another issue altogether. You can’t get a guard. You knock on the station, there’s nobody there; they’re gone out on a call and have had to lock up. It’s a joke.”

He also said Portarlington doesn’t have a full-time traffic warden and that a ‘temporary solution’ found in 2010 is effectively still in place. He explained that after the traffic warden looking after Portarlington and Mountmellick left the post in 2010, the two traffic wardens in the whole county were tasked with adding Portarlington and Mountmellick to their beat, with Mountrath, Abbeyleix and Durrow added to the workload.

There are now still only two wardens for the county with Portarlington only covered one day a week. Cllr Mullins plans to raise the warden issue at the next council meeting as he said people in Portarlington know when the warden is and isn’t around.

“People in the town know that day and they don’t care where they park for the rest of the week,” he said.

In response to a request for statement from the Leinster Express/Laois Live, a Garda spokesperson said: "An Garda Síochána and local Traffic Wardens are tasked with enforcing regulations concerning illegal parking and the unauthorised stopping of vehicles on public roads. Local authorities employ traffic wardens to monitor and address such violations within their jurisdictions.

"In April 2024, the Garda Commissioner issued a directive to all members to conduct 30 minutes of high-visibility roads policing operations during each tour of duty. This directive remains in place.

"The primary objective is to increase Garda visibility, which is proven to moderate driver and road user behaviour. Enhanced enforcement all road traffic offences including parking regulations is a direct benefit of this initiative.

"The Commission on the future of Policing highlighted that “During some of our public consultations, we encountered a misperception that An Garda Síochána should be policing routine parking violations. This should not be a function of police, but rather of parking wardens employed by local authorities. Police should only need to deal with illegally parked vehicles if they constitute a risk to public safety”

"An Garda Síochána remains committed to improving road safety on our roads and examples of enforcement activity and operations related to illegal parking can be found on our social channels including @gardatraffic #operationenable

"An Garda Síochána continues to actively work with relevant partners as per the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 ‘a strategic, coordinated and multi-sectoral approach to road safety across government and key stakeholders will be critical to achieving a safer, better Ireland for all."