Safety concerns at Athy train station
Athy Train Station
THE area outside Athy train station will continue to be “black dark” after Kildare County Council said it does not have the funding for new lights there.
At the most recent meeting of Athy Municipal District, cllr Aoife Breslin motioned “that the council carries out a road safety audit and installs additional public lighting on the roadway outside Athy Train Station in the interest of safety.”
A report issued by senior engineer in sustainable transport and traffic management at the council Donal Hodgins stated that there is no funding for new public lighting at the location.
It was added that staff from the public lighting section in the council can meet with cllr Breslin on site and that any safety issues besides public lighting can be discussed with the municipal engineer.
All four of cllr Breslin’s fellow Athy Municipal District councillors spoke at the meeting to support the motion.
Cllr Breslin noted that there is no pedestrian crossing from council-owned car park to the train station across the road, with people having to cross the road at a blind-spot to get to the train station.
Cllr Veralouise Behan said that it is “black dark” at the location at around seven in the morning.
Cathaoirleach Ivan Keatley said that it “beggars belief” that there was no positive answer on the lighting, and went on to say that “two or three street lights” is all that is needed.
