Author Archives: James Lawless
Sallins Local Area Plan 2016-2022 DRAFT
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The council has now published the draft local area plan for Sallins to cover the period 2015-2020. The draft plan was agreed following a special meeting of the council last month and is now on public display from 1 December 2015 until 8 January 2016 (read the notice on KCC’s website here). The full draft local area plan can be viewed online here.
The main proposals which are included in the draft are as follows:
Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 ; Cycle Safety Campaign
I have tabled the following motion for November’s full meeting of Kildare County Council:
– That Kildare County Council adopts the position of many other County Councils, by placing on all council vehicles, where appropriate, signs to indicate the appropriate space to give a cyclist when overtaking is a minimum of 1.5m clearance. The cost of each sign is estimated between €6 and €10.
Click on the image to link to more information.
There is currently a cycling safety campaign called ‘Stayin’ alive at 1.5‘ to ultimately pursue the adoption of a law that requires motorists to give cyclists 1.5 metres when overtaking, which would be in line with many other countries and jurisdictions worldwide. A major component of this is awareness, specifically making motorists aware of how to overtake cyclist safely. Given the ongoing efforts to develop and enhance cycle routes throughout County Kildare I think this would be a positive step towards greater awareness and road safety.”
Cycling is more popular than ever and this is a very simple but positive step towards increased road safety awareness. I hope other Councillors will support this motion on the floor of the meeting and see it enacted.
Clarification Sought on Kill Village T-Junction
At a recent meeting of Naas Municipal District, I asked Kildare County Council for clarification on the operation of the new T-junction in Kill village. The T-junction was installed during the past year to replace the roundabout that served the Hartwell Road. Local residents have complained that the T-junction was creating traffic problems. Since the roundabout in the middle of Kill village was replaced by a T-junction, road users coming from the Hartwell Road are facing long tailbacks to get on to the Main Street. Many residents have raised this with me.
Naas Roadworks Delays Unacceptable
As we are all too well aware, roadwork delays in the Naas area are adding to traffic woes. This has become particularly acute as the busy season commences and adverse weather makes driving conditions more difficult for motorists. There are three major roadworks projects underway: the Sallins Rd. roundabout widening, Main St. bus stop upgrades, and Kilcullen Rd. roadworks. All of these together are contributing adversely to the movement of traffic around Naas town and Sallins village. While it is welcome to see these projects being carried out, I would have hoped that they would have been carried out in a timely and efficient manner. Instead, we’ve had to put up with the opposite.
Therefore I’ve stressed with stakeholders involved the URGENT need for prompt completion of the roadworks to relieve this traffic chaos, especially now in the run up to Christmas. The Sallins Rd. roundabout and Kilcullen Rd. upgrade in particular are simply taking far too long to complete. It is unacceptable. One would have thought that in this day we could deliver projects like these quickly and efficiently, but it’s worse they’re getting.
While it is imperative we carry out these roadworks, it is equally important that they are done in a timely fashion with minimum disruption to traffic around the town. These roadworks are taking months. Many residents have raised the issue with me about the ongoing roadworks on the Sallins Rd. and how it’s causing havoc daily. I will be doing all I can at council level to expedite the completion of these works, especially now that bad weather and the busy Christmas season is upon us. It is critical that Naas town gets its Main Street back to normal for Christmas.