A local County Councillor has demanded a commitment from the Council to make safety improvements on a road that has seen five young people lose their lives in recent years.
Fine Gael Cllr John King raised the motion at the April meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory-Mountmellick Municipal District meeting this week.
Cllr King called on the County Council to “give a commitment” on when major road works will take at Middlemount, Rathdowney.
“This has been requested by me at several area meetings over the years and nothing has been done,” Cllr King said.
“Five young people lost their lives at this black spot – all lives that were lost were from the local area, and all under the age of 26.”
Cllr King described the road as “absolutely deadly,” saying it is a bottle-neck heading in to Rathdowney, making the road very dangerous for drivers and pedestrians alike.
Cllr Ollie Clooney supported the motion, agreeing with Cllr King’s assessment of the road and the dangers associated.
Mr James Dowling, Senior Executive Engineer for Roads responded, saying:
“Following a safety scheme including signage, access improvements, and speed limit reductions in 2020, Laois County Council will carry out a review of this high accident location following the implementation of the above measures.”
Cllr John King went on to call for the Council to resurface a “badly damaged section of road” in Rathdowney “as a matter of serious urgency as this road is used by cyclists/school buses /farmers and the general public going to Ballybrophy railway station and also people shopping in Rathdowney.”
Cllr King called the road “a death trap,” which he says has cause “numerous accidents” in recent years.
Cllr James Kelly supported the motion, saying the works “would mean a lot” to the local residents.
Mr Dowling again responded, saying Council staff will “meet Cllr King on site to discuss road safety improvements to be considered.”
Cllr King concluded by requesting the installation of a new fence and repair stone wall at Aghaboe Abbey monastic site Ballacolla “to coincide with other works already completed in this area.”
Mr Dowling said Council staff will examine the boundaries.
