A series of consultations are ongoing regarding draft flood maps that have been prepared by the Eastern CFRAM Study for Naas. These maps model flooding propensity in different regions and specific studies have been ran for Naas, Clane, Allenwood, Maynooth, Celbridge, Kilcock, Edenderry, Leixlip and other areas. The public are invited to give their input on the draft maps, to provide local knowledge on flood risk areas around our community. The draft flood maps are accessible on the Study website www.eastcframstudy.ie and any interested parties are invited to have your say via the website and study. This survey is an add-on to the study ongoing at Morrell river (see here http://jameslawless.ie/morrell-flood-relief-plans/ ).
Category Archives: Naas
Local Property Tax – Retained for Local Projects
In the 2015 budget at Kildare County Council which was set in late 2014, Fianna Fáil led a motion to cut Local Property Tax by 7.5% for Kildare which was passed and which householders will see the saving in their LPT bills this year. In addition to the tax cut, a further 7.5% of LPT collected was ring fenced for each Municipal District to be spent at the discretion of the elected councillors. In the Naas area agreement has now been reached to use this fund for the following in 2015.
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Parking Proposals for Naas Town
Whilst there are a number of car parking options available throughout the town of Naas I strongly feel the presence of clamping operators in some of the car parks is a significant hurdle to the town centre development. I have tabled a motion for this month’s council meeting to engage with the private car parking operators to transition to a “pay on exit” barrier system instead of the clamping some operators currently use. I have heard too many horror stories from one car park in particular, and this needs to be tackled. I have also requested the council perform a wider study of parking needs and capacity in Naas town and am assured that is now in progress. Working with local traders I have proposed various amendments to the current pay parking system which I hope can be adopted following the study. Finally I have also asked whether the council could provide covers or “hoods” for the parking meters at times of free parking to avoid any confusion like happened last Christmas where some people paid anyway with the machines accepting money, despite free parking being in operation at the time.
Continued Capital Expenditure in Transport Critical for Kildare
I spoke recently at a Transport Policy Conference in Clane organised by Kildare North Fianna Fáil and chaired by Timmy Dooley TD. One of the key points I made was calling on the Government to restart capital funding for transport infrastructure projects. Commuters will have noticed that at train stations across Kildare North there are increased passenger volumes. For instance, Maynooth station was recently listed in the top 10 busiest stations in Ireland.
Investing in train line infrastructure and rolling stock is important now as the economy starts to recover and public transport needs to remain a viable choice for residents across Kildare North, so many of whom commute to Dublin for work and study. This is a policy area I’ve been vocal on for years. This Government, and future ones, must give a commitment to investing in transport infrastructure.
Sallins & Naas Bike Lockers Installed
There is welcome news for commuters as Irish Rail have introduced bike lockers at Sallins & Naas train station. After requests I made last year, the busy commuter station was chosen by Irish Rail for the pilot scheme. The innovative yet simple scheme allows cyclists to cheaply secure their bicycles in lockers during the day. I’ve noted many complaints over the years of bike thefts at the station. This was had discouraged commuters from cycling to work before taking the train.