Cork County Council trials new approach to road markings amid delays with contractors

Trials of pre-formed and cold-applied markings could give local teams more flexibility to renew crossings, junctions and disabled parking bays

Trials in two areas during the final quarter of this year will assess pre-formed and cold-applied road markings. File picture: iStock

Cork County Council is testing ways for its own crews to renew pedestrian crossings, junction markings, and disabled parking bays following complaints about delays waiting for contractors.

Trials in two areas during the final quarter of this year will assess pre-formed and cold-applied road markings. If successful, the approach could be extended across the county, allowing local crews to tackle smaller jobs directly.

The update followed renewed calls from Independent Ireland councillor Danny Collins for the council to buy a road-marking vehicle, potentially sharing it with another local authority.

Speaking at the Western Division committee, Mr Collins suggested discussing an arrangement with councils in Kerry or Limerick.

He said contractor visits could be brief, with long gaps before crews returned, leaving markings still needing attention after resurfacing. Mr Collins argued that a shared vehicle would give councils greater control over when work was carried out.

The council’s director of services for roads and transport, Pádraig Barrett, said work was already under way on trials that could allow council crews to undertake some marking jobs themselves.

Officials said the results would be assessed before deciding whether to extend the approach. The work would focus on crossings, junctions, disabled parking bays and other markings in towns and villages.

Mr Barrett said the intention, if the trials proved successful, was for every operational area to have the capacity to carry out its own smaller road-marking jobs. However, the crews would not undertake long stretches of lining between towns and villages.

The proposed rollout would instead give local teams more flexibility to renew markings where they were needed, without waiting for a contractor to return to the area.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.