Concerned granny demands footpath

The grandmother of a young boy with cerebral palsy says there is an urgent need for a footpath to be extended on the Canningstown Road out of Cootehill Town but the local authority has said that such works are “unlikely” at the location in question given “several factors”.

Carmel McCrudden describes how young children walking the road to St Aidan’s Comp often have to walk in the “ditch” to avoid being struck by passing vehicles.

Her 14-year-old grandson Jarrah is wheelchair bound, and he and his family live on a road just off the main R191.

Carmel says that local politicians received a petition of signatures from concerned locals about three years ago, and locals are piling the pressure on them again, and the council. The concerned grandmother started collecting more signatures on the Main Street in Cootehill on Monday.

Within just the first few hours, Carmel had already got the support of close to 100 people. “For children going to the comprehensive, it’s not safe. If you can imagine, it’s two cars and a yellow line and, when there’s not enough room, they’re [pedestrians] in the ditch. They have to keep stopping, get in the ditch if there are two cars passing, there’s not enough room.”

Of Jarrah’s predicament, Carmel says her grandson has “complex needs”. He attends the local Holy Family School and one of his “quality of life” outlets is to be brought on walks. But safety on the road near his home hinders that.

“You cannot take his wheelchair out onto the road because the cars pass too close. So he’s restricted to the house. Jarrah needs to get out, to get fresh air, to hear the birds, it’s better for his overall quality of life.”

Funding issue

However, a council spokesperson says the provision of a footpath at this location has never been part of any “agreed programme of works” in the Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District.

They add a council representative met residents of the lane in February 2024 to explain that it is highly unlikely that funding could be secured for a project of this type due to “several factors”.

Noting that the provision of new footpaths is “dependent” on external funding streams, the council spokesperson said “in the first instance”, it is “not considered good practice” to install footpaths outside the urban speed limits, as the footpath themselves can become a potential “hazard”.

Public lighting would also be a required.

Additionally, funding for new footpaths comes “predominantly” from the National Transport Agency (NTA) under the Active Travel Scheme, and factors for consideration in the selection of suitable projects include a wider variety of factors, from location to proximity and density of developments that generate pedestrian traffic, to the length of the footpath required and any land take requirements.

Based on the factors outlined, the spokesperson suggests that “any submission for funding for a footpath scheme to service the properties on the lane in question is highly unlikely to be approved for funding by a national body”.