portlaois

mysterious

whats so good about Portloais really???
it really looks horrible ?? no offence but fintan lawlor avenue is a disgrace a very unplanned street or supposed to have a been a bypass???

The only good thing is its proximty to Dublin and been on the N7 to Limerick

TomTom

Yes it is a kip

cashback

mysterious wrote:

whats so good about Portloais really???

Where have you heard all these great things about Portlaoise?!

JackieChan

I'm also interested in where you heard good things about it!!!

kaimera

ditto.

It's a badly thought out town. even with the bypass, traffic is a bitch on a friday.

Been close to dublin isn't a good thing tbh. Too many dubs comming down the culchie and commuting to work.

CGorman

Yep, don't like it at all. Long live Mullingar!

bierhoff1

So Mysterious after you learn to spell what do you suggest to do??Get everyone to move to the architectural and planning mecca that is Limerick!I've spent some time down there and there is about as much organisation there than there is in a car crash.Plus its the most jovial place in the world also!Portlaoise may not be perfect but it is well organisation still for an ever expanding town and a much better place to live than a 4 * 8 bedsit in the city centre that you would pay an arm and a leg for.It may need a bit of development for its ever expanding population - but this is constantly ongoing.Also CGorman, you can stay in that modern planning masterpiece that is Mullingar so if you love it so much.You might lucky and pull a young 45 year old on a saturday night!!

CGorman

If you think Mullingar is a disaster... take a look at Athlone! They are in the process of knocking down the entire town center because its so awkward and poorly layed out!

TomTom

I'll agree, athlone is the worst designed town ever. Postlaoise ain't as bad, but there is way way to many roundabouts and its very sporadic. Those roundabouts at the church are fecking crazy, unless they are gone by now. Its been a few months since i was there. Tullamore is not to bad either. Need a bit of improvment down the main street, espically at the canal bridge. But things are kept fairly central.
Mullingar, well no one should ever try to be proud for being from here,

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

athy's pretty horribly designed as well...traffic in that town around half 4-6 is unholy

CGorman

TomTom wrote:

Mullingar, well no one should ever try to be proud for being from here,

Well it's done Michael O'Leary no harm! He's always on about his beloved Independent Republic of Mullingar

bierhoff1

Those round-abouts as bad as they may seem to the outsider.I admit they are not ideal but they have improved the traffic flow.Before there used to be traffic lights there and that was complete mayhem.Its just that its such a small junction carrying 3 fairly major roads.Bar gutting it and widening the whole thing the roundabouts have been the best solution.They are a bit daunting for the outsider but no more than figureing out which street is and isn't one-way in Dublin!There are plenty of ways to avoid that junction which should be signposted a bit more anyway.I think which population growth at the moment every town and city are going to have to put a lot of money into improving their infrastructure.

Occidental

Athlone needs a new bridge, south of Golden Island. Then pedestrianise the old bridge and Chruch Street and you might actually have a decent town centre.

Mullingar should improve once the southern bypass is completed. At the moment, most of the traffic problems are caused by traffic coming from the north, trying to get to the N6. There may still be the odd problem due to the large numbers of people who can't drive, but these could just be shot.

Longford Town needs levelling.

CGorman

Occidental wrote:

Mullingar should improve once the southern bypass is completed. At the moment, most of the traffic problems are caused by traffic coming from the north, trying to get to the N6. There may still be the odd problem due to the large numbers of people who can't drive, but these could just be shot.

Yeah theres huge volumes of traffic in the town everyday, particularly today Friday. Once the ringroad is finished (if that ever happens) and the multistory carpark is built hopefully the traffic burden will lessen.

Danno

Portlaoise is very very badly planned.

It amazes me in so much as that the rest of the town in Laois are very well laid out and planned. How did the principal town fall foul???

For shopping, Portlaoise in a nightmare. You cannot visit all the major stores without a several car journeys!!! For example, Dunnes and Tescos are about one mile apart! Look at where Telfords are. Leave it to Gings/Dohenys/Jim Leonards. FFS! They are so hidden!

Then they plonk the Heritage at the back of the main street! Lyster Square is a disaster. Little pokey shops at the side of a glorified skate rink that is a car park. Then they locate the Laois Shopping Centre on the otherside!!!

The sprawl along the Mountmellick road is a joke. It is 50kph for two and a half miles! Soon Mountmellick and Portlaoise will join up if this "locate the next estate at the edge of the town on the N80" continues.

Portlaoise has no centre. The main street is attractive, but buildings need to be enhanced and a proper building height to be achieved.

What amazes me about Portlaoise is all the fecking bungalows. Looks like a trailer park on yer way in along the Abbeyleix road! UGLY.

JackieChan

I see that there is a sign about a mile further out the Mountmellick road from the latest developments advertising 110 acres(I think!) of land for sale. Don't be surprised if this ends up been used for mixed use(residential/commercial/retail)

We'll alway have Laois landfill to seperate Portlaoise and MM anyway!!

Polly19

bierhoff1 wrote:

So Mysterious after you learn to spell what do you suggest to do??Get everyone to move to the architectural and planning mecca that is Limerick!I've spent some time down there and there is about as much organisation there than there is in a car crash.Plus its the most jovial place in the world also!Portlaoise may not be perfect but it is well organisation still for an ever expanding town and a much better place to live than a 4 * 8 bedsit in the city centre that you would pay an arm and a leg for.It may need a bit of development for its ever expanding population - but this is constantly ongoing.Also CGorman, you can stay in that modern planning masterpiece that is Mullingar so if you love it so much.You might lucky and pull a young 45 year old on a saturday night!!

I have to agree but Im born raised and living in Portlaoise(when Im not in college) and I think the expansion is getting otu of control.6years ago I lived on the outskirts adn now its practically town center.

Also the twin roundabouts.All they achieve is to congest traffic and cause massive trraffic jams.Everybody just drives over them anyway,

But Portlaoise has is nice aspects.The Rock of Dunmase is beautiful.

Also the skaters have fromed a group and have the backing of the county council to have a skate park built and as of a week ago they have all the go ahead they need,just need to find land.They have jerseys and everything made for them.I know all this cause my brother is one of the main skaters and managing director of the group.

Then theres all the clothes shops!!Ok only women would love them. but...

Thers loads of nice things about the town if you stop looking at all the bad things.

Lanfear:

Im not too sure bout thats anti-dub attitude in portlaoise.Im inclined to disagree.Cause Dublin is so huge alot of Dubliners are relocating to Portlaoise cause its ideal with the striaght motorway to Dublin and also the direct train line.Cause of that thers a huge population of Dubliners and I havent seen any rejection of them.

In regards your son.I can talk to my brother as hes 16 and see his opinion on how your son would get on but Im only out of seconddary school in Portlaoise two years and when I was there we had a few dubliners join the school and they were well accepted.But thats in the girls school but from what i saw its the same in the boys school.

Dont send your son to the Tech whatever you do though cause he will have a hard time there.St Pauls CBS is the best secondary school even though its an all boys school.The other option is Ballyfin but they are closing down so not accepting anymoe sudents or Heywood,I think its a mixed,but Heywood is awkard for transport but if you can get it easily Heywood is a good school

Hope that helps

Polly19

Where bouts u taking the house?Kilminchy?

Itll have to be St Pauls cause Ballyfin has stopped taking fisrst years as the college iwas sold a few years ago and not being continued to be run as a school.What year would he be going into?I think they only have third year onwards left come september

Polly19

Grey trousers,grey shirt and red/black tie with a black jumper with a red strip round the collar and the schools logo for CBS

Ballyfin.Grey trousers.light blues shirt and grey jumper with light blue strip in collar and schools logo.Not sure of tie colours.

Shaws in portlaoise do every colleges uniform anyway so it wont be a problem for you to get it

Polly19

He definally wont get away with that lol.

Is he a skater or roller blader or anything like that?

Hell alsobe kept well occuipied.Theres a cinema and bowling alley and park.And then the new skating park that should hopefully be open within the year.The only problem now is youll have to be driving him everywhere lol

Also if theres anything else you wanna know bout Laois or that but dont wanna mention it over here feel free to PM me

Polly19

Um...youve got a real punk on your hands lol.He should fit in fine in CBS lol.All the guys his age r into the heavy rock metal

Polly19

Ah I get that from my brother aswell lol.You got Slip Knot blaring through the house yet lol

That tis prob going to be a problem.Your outside of Portlaoise.My dad lives in an area outisde of Mountrath,near Ballyfin too actually,called Coolrain and he cant get broadband out there.Broadband has only been introduced in the last few months to the Portlaoise area itself.I dont know bout cabel broadband over phone wires but you may have to just get a dial up.Ring round to Eircom,NTL BT and think there might be one or two others and let them know the area your moving to and tehyll be able to tell u what u can be provided wit

Cabel if your in the countryside could be a problem but you could join Choras and get their digital.Dad also has that and it costs bout 35-40euro a month whixh is now days the same as what cabel is and you may have to pay a connection to cabel aswell is your problem.We have Digital Sky at home in Portlaoise and have the standard package which costs 40euro a month aswell so you can get that

rossdarragh

I live in Portlaoise and as a whole i'm quite happy, its probably no better or worse than any other provincial town, But I do agree wholeheartedly it is a planning disaster. No long term planning or foresight. The town planners past and present should be ashamed and embarassed