Tag Archives: Commuting

Continued Capital Expenditure in Transport Critical for Kildare

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Cllr James Lawless Kildare NorthI 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.

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Sallins & Naas Bike Lockers Installed

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James Lawless bike lockersThere 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.

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Sallins & Naas Train Station Updates

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James_Train_Station_v2-2As spokesperson for the Sallins & Naas train lobby group NASRUG, I meet regularly with Irish Rail to review performance of the commuter services and discuss any issues affecting the Kildare railway line. I most recently met with Irish rail on the Monday 1st December and discussed a range of issues as follows:

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Naas Bus Hub – Now Shorter and Sweeter

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Naas bus bayOne of the town centre items that came up at the last council meeting concerned plans to upgrade the “bus hub” on Naas Main Street. I had a number of difficulties with this, some of which stemmed from our meetings with traders. Firstly I am unconvinced that there is sufficient demand for a new bus stop at this location to justify the cost. Secondly we do not appear to have the power to divert the money to other locations where there is a demand. Thirdly the project as proposed would have taken away parking spaces from the Main Street which is just not acceptable at a time when they are so needed. We had a robust debate on the proposals at that council meeting and I and other Cllrs expressed the concerns above. The outcome was that the “hub” will be re-designed to reduce its size and street footprint and that no parking spaces will now be lost.

New Bus Hub for Main Street Naas

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Naas bus bayA set of plans have been produced by the National Transport Authority, in conjunction with Bus Eireann and the County Council, to create a new ‘bus hub’ on Naas main street. This is a ‘Part 8’ in planning terms, which means the council puts it forward and the councillors vote on it (unlike a normal planning application where a private party puts forward an application and council officials decide on it). It strikes me that there is a lot of money being spent on this bus hub and I am not wholly convinced of the value. Concerns have been raised about potential impact on the main street as the plans would involve a loss of some parking spaces (4). I feel whether the bus stop proceeds or not, this underlying issue (lack of parking) needs to be addressed and I have been working on some proposals on that and on other town issues – more on that in due course. You can view the current designs for the bus hub here and the council are accepting submissions until 19th September.