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‘Death trap of a road’ leading to Laois secondary school to be assessed for safety works

Sleaty Road Knockbeg
Sleaty Road Knockbeg

A road that leads up to a Laois secondary school is to be assessed to examine possible safety measures after it was described as a ‘death trap’.

The road in question is the Sleaty Road which is the only one that services Knockbeg College.

At this week’s meeting of the Graiguecullen/Portarlington Municipal District, Independent Councillor Ben Brennan called on Laois County Council to act.

He said: “This is a death trap of a road – hedges need to be trimmed and there are parts where it is hard for two care to pass.

“I recently carried out my own survey where in a one hour period, I counted 300 vehicles on the road.

“That was only going one way and the majority were probably coming back too.

“I also want to see this road put on the salting route. We have 500 children attending Knockbeg and we do not want to have an accident on a frosty morning.”

In response, Senior Engineer Philip McVeigh said he would meet Cllr Brennan on the Sleaty Road to assess what can be done.

He said: “Laois County Council has carried out pothole repairs and some hedge cutting has been carried out by landowners along this road in the last week.

“We would welcome a meeting on site to consider potential locations for passing bays, given the volume of traffic at peak times and the narrow width of the road.”

In further motions, Cllr Brennan called for the footpath in Oakley Park in Graiguecullen to be made safe as the path has subsided.

He also asked that the culvert in Springhill, Killeshin, be made safe.

In relation to both of these, Senior Engineer Philip McVeigh agreed to meet Cllr Brennan on site to assess the problems.

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