Railway parking problems for commuters could be solved if Laois County Council bought land near Portlaoise Railway Station.
Today’s meeting of Portlaoise Municipal Authority heard the provision of extra parking at Portlaoise Railway Station is a “highlight issue” for the senior management of Laois County Council.
In response to motions on the issue by Cllrs Catherine Fitzgerald and Willie Aird, director of services Kieran Kehoe said County Hall continues to progress this issue. “The chief executive has this as one of his highlight issues,” he said.
Stress
“It is a major issue out there,” Cllr Fitzgerald said. “There is the stress of commuting and then you have people trying to find parking in the morning,” she said.
“I would prefer if people had jobs in Portlaoise but we are not living in the real world,” she added.
“Unfortunately, Portlaoise doesn’t have the facilities of Portarlington or Kildare. It behoves us to provide adequate parking,” Cllr Aird said.
“Why don’t we as a council buy the land?” he said. He said he understands the the land near the station comes under the redress board.
“We should buy it and then we can sit down and plan it out and build houses on it. It is so near the town,” he said.
He said people are always interested in the houses in Riverview, which is closeby, due to their proximity to town.
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