No entry – Kilkenny Council puts barrier on lane to keep out cars

Concerns were recently raised that cars defying a ‘no entry’ rule on Chapel Lane, in Thomastown, were putting the safety of pedestrians, including school children, at risk.

It has now been decided to erect barriers at either end of the lane to prevent vehicles that were ignoring the ‘no entry’ signs from driving along the narrow roadway.

Cllr Deirdre Cullen said that Kilkenny County Council are to fit two bollards on either side of Chapel Lane this week to stop cars using the lane as a short cut. These bollards are required to ensure pedestrian safety and can be removed for emergency service vehicles.

Raising this issue at the recent Callan Thomastown Municipal District, Cllr Cullen said she had “grave concerns that children who use this lane to walk to and from school were being put at high risk by unauthorised vehicle users who are driving on the lane. This lane is for pedestrian use only except in circumstances where our Emergency Services need to access it. The safety of children here comes first and rightly so. One accident would have been one too many.”