Safety measures at Green Mill Lane in Portlaoise would end up causing inconvenience for road users, according to Laois County Council.
At the recent Portlaoise Municipal District Meeting, Cllr Jerry Lodge had a motion: “That this meeting again requests Laois County Council to install traffic calming measures at Green Mill Lane / Ridge Road in the interest primarily of pedestrians”.
A response from council engineer Farhan Nasiem confirmed that the road design department has considered measures to improve the safety of pedestrians on Green Mill Lane “for quite some time”.
“Any solutions we have come up with would inconvenience at least some road users. One relatively simple measure would be to construct a footway along Green Mill Lane between its junction with Ridge Road and the entrance to Triogue Manor housing estate, while permanently restricting vehicle movements on that segment in one direction only,” he said.
However, he added: “That solution would affect the flow of traffic within the town, and those effects have yet to be evaluated in depth. We would also be required to design an acceptable crossing at Ridge Road, given that the footway is found on only one side of that road,” Mr Nasiem said.
“It is very difficult to get a solution,” Cllr Lodge said.
In winter months, school children are walking on both sides of the road. “A small percentage of cars are speeding,” he said, to get through the area.
“The lane is a narrow area. We need some form of warning or flashing lights to let people know that children are there. We wouldn’t have to spend a huge amount of money,” he said.
Mr Nasiem said they could arrange an issue on site to come up with a solution.
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