Cars parking on footpath at Athy's Emily Square
Emily Square, Athy
VEHICLES parking on the footpath at Emily Square in Athy has come into the spotlight, and a meeting is being arranged to discuss the implementation of safety measures.
At the most recent meeting of Athy Municipal District on 20 April, cllr Mark Leigh motioned “that the council installs safety barriers/bollards on the footpath” in the square.
The council’s response — issued by senior executive officer for transport, mobility and open spaces Mark McLoughlin — said that the area engineer “will investigate the matter; and would request an on-site meeting to discuss the issues".
Cllr Leigh mentioned that a parent recently told him of an incident where they were ready to cross the road at the square with their small child when a car pulled up on the footpath outside one of the local restaurants and “narrowly missed” them.
Cllr Leigh noted that this is not the only incident he has been told of that would be avoidable in his opinion, if “some well-positioned barriers” were installed.
Cllr Veralouise Behan supported the motion but said that “commercial properties do deliveries along there” and that this would need to be kept in mind in the design process.
Cllrs Aoife Breslin and Brian Dooley expressed viewpoints in line with the sentiment that parking at Emily Square is an issue, and it was agreed amongst the councillors that a further motion on the matter will be brought forward next month.
