Near misses at pedestrian crossing in Laois town as drivers fail to slow down

Cllr Ollie Clooney has warned that the crossing in Durrow is very “dangerous”

Published 13th Jul 2026, 12:25 BST The Cork Road in Durrow. Cllr Ollie Clooney has warned that the crossing in Durrow is very “dangerous” Sign up to our Laois Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Laois Live within your account.

Motorists are failing to slow down for a pedestrian crossing on a busy road in a Laois town, a local councillor has said.

Councillor Ollie Clooney has asked Laois County Council to step in and address the road safety issues at the pedestrian crossing on the Cork Road in Durrow .

The Durrow councillor said that the pedestrian crossing which was installed just a few years ago has been a welcome addition to the town but there are some safety concerns regarding the speed motorists are approaching it.

“Unfortunately motorists don’t seem to recognise it for some reason or not. They are just flying through it and there have been a few near misses on it,” Cllr Clooney told the council at the July meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick MD.

“It’s a big issue up there for anyone crossing. It’s dangerous. I’d certainly like to see something done with it.”

The motion was supported by Cllr James Kelly who emphasised issues with driver behaviour.

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“Once again, we’re down to poor driver behaviour and a lack of resources from enforcement, who are the Gardaí and the speed vans,” Cllr Kelly said.

He also mentioned that more locations for speed vans might need to be considered to tackle the issues with speed in the county generally.

The MD Office agreed to arrange for a speed and traffic data survey to be carried out.

The data collected from this assessment will be used by the Roads Department to evaluate the justification and scope for appropriate traffic calming interventions.

Any subsequent physical works will be subject to funding availability.