A Laois County Councillor has hit out at illegal parking in Mountrath and has called for action.
Independent Councillor James Kelly tabled a motion on the matter on at a recent meeting of the Borris-In-Ossory-Mountmellick Municipal District.
Cllr Kelly asked that Laois County Council provide bollards and markings on the footpath and road on the entrance to Wallace Street Mountrath to address the issue of illegal parking.
He said: “We have the new development on Wallace Street, which is causing a lot of issues with the locals.
“Issues over parking have been ongoing for a long time. We have the library there and we had the Credit Union, and our own staff would have parking at the back of the library.
“It has turned into a free for all, and we have a few bollards coming in off Shannon Street into Wallace Street, but there is another section there where we need five or six more bollards.
“At the moment, the bylaws which we all have championed and put in place, are not working now. Free for all parking has come back into the town.
“They know the day and the hour that the traffic warden is going to be there, and that’s a resource issue as well because we only have two traffic wardens and they are finding it hard enough to do what they have to do.
“But we are gone back to people now parking in the town again, and we need to get more action on this, and enforce the bylaws that we have.
“I have been approached by a number of businesses again, and they have said that it has gone back to the old ways.
“Vehicles are being parked outside of businesses all day, obviously people are going to Dublin and even the employees are beginning to park in the town again because there is no alternative, but we have bylaws.”
Supporting Cllr Kelly, fellow Independent Cllr Ollie Clooney says the wardens would need ‘to be magicians’ to keep up with illegal parking and explained the same issues are occurring in Durrow.
Senior District Engineer with the Council, Mr Rory O’Callaghan responded that the Area Office will address the parking issue at the Wallace Street junction with Shannon Street, and will meet with the Cllr on site.
In a second motion, Cllr Kelly asked that road resurfacing works be carried out on the Old Borris/Danigeanroe Road to alleviate flooding issues and damage caused by storms.
Engineer Rory O’Callaghan explained that no budget for these works is available for 2025 and that it would be considered for 2026.
Finally, Cllr Kelly asked that footpath and road repairs be carried out in the vicinity of Castletown ICA Hall in conjunction with the two new bus stops that are planned.
Engineer O’Callaghan said the Area Office will work with Active Travel to address the repairs.
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