Illegal parking on new path near St Colman’s 'still a problem'

Illegal parking remains a problem at the new cycle lane near St Colman’s School, Independent councillor Mick Dollard told officials at the January meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.

“The situation has been exacerbated since the footpath/ cycle path was widened, because cars are parking right up on top of it now,” said Cllr Dollard, who has raised the subject at a number of municipal district meetings in recent months.

Speaking on his motion asking the district to indicate when it intended putting down double yellow lines there, he said that there is a specific issue of cars blocking the entrances to three houses at that location – FitzSimons’s, Murphy’s and Russells’.

The official written response to his motion stated that double yellow lines were installed there in December, as agreed with An Garda Síochána, and it is not intended to install additional double yellow lines at that location.

Cllr Dollard retorted that when the lines were painted there in December, they should have been extended beyond Murphy’s house and he argued that in the absence of double yellow lines, there is nothing that the council or the gardaí can do about the illegal parking.

Director of services Martin Murray said the location of the double yellow lines had been agreed with An Garda Síochána, and he went on to say that the traffic wardens can now take action if people park illegally.

Mr Murray said the council was as frustrated as the residents and it had written to the school principal and the school’s board of management about the issue.

Mullingar Town Park

At the same meeting, a request that the pond at the town park in Mullingar be cleaned was made by Cllr Dollard.

There was a positive response to his request: the work has already been done and the litter removed from the pond, he was informed.

“The remaining organic material forms a freshwater habitat for a variety of aquatic plants and animals,” the written response to his request concluded.

There was also a positive response to Cllr Dollard’s request that the municipal district explain why litter bins were removed from the lower section of Ginnell Terrace, and the executive undertook to investigate the matter.

A further request by Cllr Dollard was that footpath repairs be carried out in Chestnut Drive, Mullingar.

To this, the response was that road and footpath repairs were carried out in 2020 in Chestnut Drive, but that further works can be considered in the context of the 2021 Estimates.