Dundalk ‘Make Way Day’ highlights progress — But ‘barriers remain’ for people with disabilities, warns councillor
Dundalk streets came under scrutiny this week as the town hosted its annual ‘Make Way Day’ walkabout, part of a nationwide campaign highlighting the everyday barriers faced by people with disabilities.
The initiative aims to raise public awareness of the challenges encountered by wheelchair users, people with visual impairments, those with limited mobility, and parents with prams. Among the issues identified were: bins and billboards obstructing footpaths, illegal parking in disabled bays, cycling on footpaths, overgrown hedges, uneven kerbing, and damaged or poorly maintained pavements.
Now in its ninth year locally, the walkabout was led by disability advocate John Morgan and Independent councillor Maeve Yore. The event has also been supported every year by An Garda Síochána’s community policing unit in Louth, including Sergeant Ronan Loftus and Gardaí Kate Patterson and Darragh Prior.
Members of the Gardaí accompanied participants along the route, engaging with motorists and members of the public to highlight how everyday actions — such as blocking footpaths or misusing disabled parking spaces — can significantly impact accessibility. Council officials, including Louth County Council’s Access Officer and area engineers, also took part to assess infrastructure and identify areas for improvement.
Speaking after the event, John Morgan praised the collaborative approach, saying: “We have seen great improvements’ year on year for people with disabilities in Louth, and with this and other campaigns it’s all about educating people, raising awareness what our daily challenges are when navigating our community spaces in wheelchairs and seeking solutions.”
He also praised Cllr Maeve Yore for her “unstinting support for people with disabilities across Louth on this and many other issues,” and added that Cllr. Yore will work with council engineers and the Access Officer to follow up on issues encountered.
Mr Morgan described this year’s event as the most successful to date, noting that there was “very little” evidence of misuse of disabled parking bays. However, Gardaí did encounter and address issues such as parking on footpaths and double yellow lines, as well as obstacles blocking pedestrian routes.
Cllr Yore said the event also provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress made since the campaign began.
“Great transformative works have been carried out in the Dundalk Town and Municipal area since the inception of Make Way Day nine years ago.”
The Independent Councillor acknowledged “the ongoing positive engagement and interaction by Louth County Council Infrastructure, Operations, Regeneration Teams and management with people with disabilities on a number of projects which have proved co-creation can lead to many successes including accessibility.”