By Noel O’Driscoll
CROWDS turned out in Monasterevin last week at a public meeting to discuss the controversial roadworks in the town. A protest the previous weekend had also drawn a large crowd. But such was the crowd that turned out for the public meeting that it had to be moved from the day care centre to the nearby secondary school.
The council put concrete build-outs on three sides of the junction at Main Street and Whelan Street. Local residents say this is dangerous because lorry drivers now have to mount the footpath to turn the corner. They also say that some cars have been damaged because of people driving over them.
Sarah O’Neill is PRO for Monasterevin Community Council. “There was a huge turnout because this is something which has really annoyed many people in the town. Several of the councillors came including councillors Browne, Nolan, Doyle and O’Donnell, as well as local TD Sean Ó Feargháil.”
Ms O’Neill said that the local politicians had a number of suggestions for the committee. “They advised us to get in touch with local gardaí immediately and we did this the following morning. The gardaí told us they were putting up signs in the area because they were worried about the safety of the concrete build-outs. We were also told to contact the Kildare Co Council Director of Transportation and Public Safety Michael O’Leary. We expect to have a meeting with him within the next week once he has familiarised himself with the issue.” Ms O’Neill went on to add that since the meeting Kildare Co Council has itself put markers on the concrete areas to warn people of the safety dangers. However she said that this is not enough and they want the concrete removed.
“We were also told to put a motion before the next council meeting to have the concrete removed.
The signs are permanent markers, which have been put in place for health and safety reasons. However we want the concrete areas removed for other reasons apart from health and safety. Monasterevin is a heritage town and the wide street in Monasterevin is part of our heritage.
“If we don’t have that heritage then people wont be attracted to our town.”
Ms O’Neill said that more meetings would be organised in the near future. “We will have another meeting shortly to update people on what is happening with this issue. Also other issues have been raised at the meetings that we have had and we plan to address the issues that local people have with the town.”