‘Huge cost’ of upgrading public footpaths in Waterford revealed
“We are effectively chronically underfunded. We are making improvements and having an impact, but you can only spent what you’ve got” - Cllr Joe Kelly
The typical price for replacing an urban footpath is approximately €1,000 per linear metre.
Local councillor Joe Kelly (Ind) said this week that Waterford Council funding would need to be raised significantly in order to tackle the amount of repairs currently needed.
He said, “Since the last local election, we in the council set up a fund of between €300,000 and €400,000 per year that we invest and set aside specifically for footpath repairs.
“These funds used to be part of our wider roads budget and we would designate what we could to footpaths, but now there’s this specific budget in place specifically for footpaths.
"However, the amount needs to be doubled or trebled every year to bring footpaths up to a reasonable standard.”
Cllr Kelly added that it was "an impossible task" to tackle the problem considering the lack of funding.
“We are effectively chronically underfunded. We are making improvements and having an impact, but you can only spent what you’ve got.”
