Claims elderly people can't leave their homes as council receives nearly 600 footpath complaints since 2023

Almost 600 complaints about footpaths have been made to Cork City Council since the beginning of 2023.

More than 40 complaints were made in April alone, and these were seen by The Echo under the Freedom of Information Act. 

Complaints included elderly people being unable to leave their homes due to dangerous footpaths, and complaints made as long as four years ago, with no action taken despite repeated follow-ups. From January 1, 2023, to May 1, 2024, a total of 583 complaints were made.

These included complaints by vulnerable people, with one asking for repairs at the junction of Bishopstown Ave and Bishopstown Ave West, saying: “The pavement at the crossing here is very fractured and uneven.

“I have sight loss, and these cracks and ridges are a really trip hazard for me, and I’m sure many others, as I attend hospital appointments.”

The daughter of a resident in Rockgrove Estate reported very bad footpaths around the area, noting “there are a lot of elderly residents who cannot leave the house as a result”.

Some 40 complaints were made about the southside of the city, 20 about the northside, with an additional seven complaints about Douglas, five about Ballincollig, and one each about Glanmire and Blarney.

A complaint was made about footpaths on Edward Walsh Rd by a person whose neighbour had recently had a fall on it, saying “it is very dangerous for pedestrians”.

A complaint about footpaths in Greenwood Estate said that a footpath outside their house has sunk, writing, “there are a lot of elderly people living in this area, it’s very dangerous and is a fall hazard”.

Another person complained about Clanrickarde Estate, saying “footpath caving in with a hole getting bigger right outside an elderly person’s home, thus proving to be an obstacle for safe mobility”.

Calls to resurface the footpath in Harrington Square were made by an elderly caller who said it was uneven and “very dangerous for walking around”, while another elderly person complained about cracks on the footpath at Marina Park, saying they were “afraid of getting a fall and concerned for other pedestrians also”.

'REAL HAZARD'

Westcourt Heights footpaths were called “a real hazard to the mainly elderly population that live here,” while a local representative said that footpaths on Evergreen St were “a trip hazard to the many elderly residents who reside in the area,” asking for the pavement slab to be reinstated “so as to avoid any unnecessary falls and injuries”.

Another person called to report that footpaths were deteriorating on Montpellier Rd in Donnybrook, saying that people were walking on the road as the footpath was so unsafe.

The Long Lane on Dublin Hill “is in a ridiculous state” and “needs to be resurfaced immediately as it now possess a serious health and safety risk to the elderly residents who use the lane to access the bus stop,” another person wrote.

They said: “The concrete and tar are now so worn away that they have begun to come away and it possess a very dangerous slipping hazard.”

Social Democrats councillor for Cork South Central, Pádraig Rice, said: “Across the city, the footpaths are in a bad state. The number and detail of the complaints the council has received is evidence of that.

“Broken and cracked footpaths are causing huge accessibility issues particularly for older people, people with disabilities and parents with buggies.”

Mr Rice said that during the recent local election campaign, almost every day he met someone who had tripped or fallen, saying: “One woman said the fall left her ‘black and blue’. People should be able to walk down the street without the fear of falling.

“Another woman I spoke to said she had stopped walking to the shop every day after a fall on a footpath last year. Instead, she gets someone to drive her there once a week. As a result, she is meeting fewer people and getting less exercise which is impacting her health.

“A third woman ended up in hospital after tripping on the footpath.”

As well as elderly people, many were also concerned about the safety of children, with one writing: “There is a serious trip hazard on Melbourn Rd outside the side entrance to Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh.

“A large section footpath is completely lifting so if you step on one part, the other side lifts,” another complainant noted. “I was speaking to residents who have witnessed children tripping on the way home from school. The paving slabs that run along Elmvale Avenue, Wilton, were very badly damaged over winter. They are becoming a serious trip hazard. We have a lot of children that walk to school, residents of O’Connell Court and the L’arche Centre that regularly walk this route, it’s an accident waiting to happen.”

One person called from Douglas to complain about the areas between Inchvale Drive and Shamrock Lawn, saying: “The footpath has no surface and there’s all loose gravel and this is hazardous to pedestrians and children in the area,” noting that they had called this in several times over the past 3 years “and nothing has been done since”.

Mr Rice concluded: “There is an ambition for Cork to be a healthy city. Core to that has to be active travel like walking, but this isn’t possible without better basic infrastructure like good footpaths.

“People have been let down by the council. It’s taking far too long to get the footpaths repaired or replaced. We need to see this changed.

“The council needs to get the basics right. Fixing the footpaths must be at the top of that agenda.”

Cork City Council declined to comment.