'Catastrophic consequences': Ambulances unable to pass on busy stretch of Carlow road

A busy stretch of road in Carlow has been highlighted as potentially causing “catastrophic consequences” for emergency services.

When busy, the Kilkenny Road in Carlow is inaccessible to emergency services, as locals have seen in recent days.

In a post on Facebook, a woman highlighted a “seriously concerning situation” that she had witnessed.

There was a long queue of traffic in both directions when an ambulance approached with its lights and sirens on.

“It became completely stuck because there was simply nowhere for the traffic to move. Cars could not safely pull onto the footpaths due to pedestrians, and the high kerbs on both sides made it difficult to move out of the way even if there had been space,” the post states.

It added that the ambulance driver became visibly distressed, gesturing in frustration, while drivers on the road also became “clearly stressed” as there was nowhere safe for them to move to.

“This is an extremely serious road planning and emergency access issue. If an ambulance cannot get through when responding to an emergency, the consequences could be catastrophic,” the post reads.

The writer called for an investigation and rectification before “someone’s life is put at risk.”

“Emergency vehicles must have a safe and practical route through this area at all times. Surely there must be a legal requirement or legal implication for this failure in the planning,” they said.

Many people flocked to the comments to share their view on the situation, with many noting the bike lanes on either side, that are claimed to be rarely used, being a huge part of the issue.

“Absolutely insane. They would rather someone dies in an ambulance trying to get to hospital while patting themselves on the back because there's enormous bike lanes on both sides sitting completely empty,” one person commented.

“Everyone could see this a mile away that an ambulance couldn't pass on the Kilkenny Road as nowhere for cars to move aside. It's bad enough that we don't have a hospital in Carlow but now that route to Kilkenny is inaccessible for an Ambulance as there is bumper to bumper traffic so often on that road during the day,” another said.

“Kilkenny Rd has become impassible… let’s call it as it is!Adding horrendous stress to the drivers of the services vehicles who are paramount to assisting the public daily,” another added.

The recently added cycle lanes have been causing issues from the get-go, with many people from Carlow finding it “difficult to accept” them, according to the Carlow Nationalist.

The width of the cycle lanes has been highlighted as the main issue, as it leaves little space for drivers when emergency services need to pass, but it also forces those living along the stretch of the road with a new layout to take illegal turns to leave their homes.

Tom Lennon is one of those residents.

He must cross the white line in the middle of the road to swing out and turn left, something that is both illegal and dangerous.

He was told by a council official that it’s okay for him to hold up traffic when attempting to leave his house and was advised to apply for planning permission to widen the dropped curbs outside his gate.

Another resident of the Kilkenny Road said that the council “couldn’t have made it worse.”

Carlow County Council has been contacted for comment.