'No money' for path repairs

Kildare County Council has the repair of the Chapel Road and its footpath 'as a priority', but it says it can't afford to do any repairs this year.



The Council cited reduced funding from central government as the reason.

But a local man who spearheaded a campaign raise money to buy cobble lock in the 90s to repair the Kilcullen's main street footpaths says he's prepared to do that again for the Chapel Road.

"The truth is, that footpath has been in poor condition for 20 years," says Jim Collins, who was one of the corps of local people through the 70s/80s/90s that brought Kilcullen to national awareness for its community spirit. "If the Council will commit to doing the actual work, I'll lead a fundraising campaign to buy the materials."

The state of the footpath was brought home forcibly last week when a woman who had competed in the Flora Womens Mini Marathon tripped and banged her head while walking to the Parish Centre for refreshments afterwards.

The woman lost consciousness for a time, and had to be looked after on the footpath by others who had accompanied her in the Dublin marathon event earlier that afternoon. She was later treated at the K-Doc centre in Naas.

Local people have complained about the broken surfaces for some considerable time. The path is used by most people who walk to mass in Kilcullen, many of whom are elderly.

A Council spokesman noted that the poor condition of the footpath was due to cars parking on it. He said the Council is aware of the problem, but is not in a position to make any repairs this year.