Over-bridge pedestrian route at Ballinea ruled out

Ballinea bridge

Lorries passing under the bridge at Ballinea have to use the centre of the road to ensure they have enough clearance – but pedestrians are in constant danger as they use it, Cllr Aoife Davitt told the November meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District, as she called to have works carried out to made the bridge safer for both pedestrians and traffic.

“In order for the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad to construct a footpath at that location, a give and take system would be required. That will require funding and may be considered as part of the 2025 estimates,” the official response to Cllr Davitt read.

The Fianna Fáil woman told the meeting that a “creative” solution might be to install a pedestrian access leading over the bridge.

However, she continued, there is still a problem for trucks – and for tractors with trailers, and if a give and take system were to be installed, there would be a huge amount of thought required, as well as a huge amount of infrastructure.

Cllr Davitt volunteered to meet officials at the site to explain the problems and discuss possible solutions, and Cllr Ken Glynn supported her call for action.

Director of services, Deirdre Reilly, said an on-site meeting could be arranged, but she ruled out an over-bridge pedestrian route as a solution, saying that it would not meet with design standards for accessibility.

Road requests raised

There was an encouraging response to two road work requests made by Cllr Ken Glynn at the November meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.

He asked that the district include Clonmore Heights in the next road budget works programme and was informed that they would consider it as part of the 2025 estimates for restoration.

“It is currently in the 2026 resurfacing programme but may be brought forward depending on funding,” the response stated.

The mayor’s second request was that the district include the Slanestown L5802 road in the next road budget works programme, to which the response was that the district would consider the road for resurfacing as part of the 2025 estimates.

Cllr Glynn also asked that, in the interest of public safety, the district prioritise access improvement works inside the entrance to Ardilaun Green and Ardilaun Heights. The executive replied that the works might be considered as part of the 2025 estimates.