Approach road to infamous Kildare junction getting traffic survey
Beggars End
IT was the reverse Meat Loaf for a councillor recently after two of her three motions at a recent meeting Naas Municipal District meeting were not successful, although none of this put a dent in her ebullient stride.
The hard-working Cllr Carmel Kelly was asking the county council for a bus shelter in Sallins, an upgrade of Bodenstown Cross, and a traffic survey on the L2019, and yet it was only the latter of the three with which she drew any success.
Cllr Kelly had enquired if the council could “carry out an assessment on the volumes of traffic using the L2019 from Arthurstown (2km south of Kill) to (the R410) Beggars End crossroads” five kilometres south.
Beggar’s End is the infamous, five-way crossroads near Punchestown, where eyes on the back of one’s head is almost a necessity.
Unsurprisingly, this stretch of thoroughfare had already been well-flagged on the Transport Section’s technical radar.
“The L2019 from the R410 to Arthurstown is on the programme for traffic counting in 2025,” was the simple one-line reply from Daragh Conlan, acting senior executive engineer in roads design at transport, mobility and open spaces, although no further indication as to exactly when this might be was not forthcoming.
“The residents along this stretch are getting concerned about the speed,” she said.
“It is a straight stretch, but it’s used for so many routes, so I understand why it’s turning into a rat-run.
“So, they’re (the Transport Section) are going to look if they can put in some traffic calming measures, and I’m happy about that, and so are the residents,” she said.
Cllr Kelly was, however, not so successful with her two subsequent enquiries, although that will mean little to the glass-half-full Sallins woman.
Firstly, she asked “can the council confirm that the bus stop at Sallins Park (opposite Des Kelly on the Clane Road) is on the list for the installation of a bus shelter?” “There are over 500 existing bus stop locations in the county,” she was informed in the formal reply from Donal Hodgins, the Senior Engineer at the Roads Section.
“Kildare County Council is working with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to review and prioritise improvements to bus stop infrastructure, and when this review is complete a list of potential bus shelter and other improvements for locations will be prepared and appropriate public consultation undertaken,” was as much official solace as he could offer.
“Look, the bus shelter is on that list, and it’s gone to the NTA,” she said after. “It will get done, but when? I don’t have the priority list.” Next, Cllr Kelly sought improvements about one kilometre further north, where the Clane Road (R407) meets the Straffan Road (L2010), known locally as Bodenstown Cross.
“Can the Council confirm that Bodenstown Cross is on its list for upgrade to help relieve the congestion and traffic build up at this crossroads?” she enquired.
“Kildare County Council is currently progressing a junction improvement project that focuses on locations of interest identified by the collision analysis for Regional Road Network,” said Mr Conlan.
“This junction has not been identified in the most recent analysis and will not be considered for future phases of the project.”
He added: “There are no resources or funding available to progress an upgrade at this location at the present time as the Roads Project Teams are delivering several key projects as outlined in the recent Roads Capital Projects update.” “With regard to this, I totally understand their answer, and they have to prioritize the more dangerous junctions,” said Cllr Kelly.
“But the volumes at Bodenstown Cross recently have increased so much, I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’m fairly sure the Sallins bypass is the reason why.
“They’ve agreed they’d go away and have a look and come back to me.
“With regards to the (planned) increase in Bodenstown Graveyard, perhaps there should be a roundabout here,” she concluded.
