Cootehill road surface ‘deplorable’

The stretch of road between St Aidan's Comprehensive to Cootehill town centre has been described as "deplorable" by one local councillor, who has asked the council to invest in repairing the route.

Fine Gael's Carmel Brady said that road surface has deteriorated so badly that it is now posing a potential risk for motorists and cyclists who often have to swerve to avoid potholes.

She noted that the road was heavily used, both by school traffic and heavier vehicles, including by farmers attending the nearby mart and local industry.

“The surface is deplorable,” said Cllr Brady, who added that traffic calming furniture, which had been damage, needed to be replaced.

Back in February last year, Cllr Brady said that traffic calming bollards located on Cootehill's Station Road were “not fit for purpose” any longer. She instead described them as “obstacles” to traffic.

Cllr Brady's motion concerning the road surface was supported by Sinn Féin's Paddy McDonald, an Fianna Fáil's Aiden Fitzpatrick who acknowledged that the route was in “bad repair”.

Senior area engineer Alan Lyons informed last week's meeting of Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District area members that the council is aware of the issue. “It definitely needs to be on the roadworks programme for overlaying,” he accepted.

He assured that the examination of traffic calming, as raised previously by Cllr Brady, is an “item down for action.”