Dangerous Naas junction closure sees truck get stuck!

THE long-awaited closure of one of the most dangerous junctions in Naas was appropriately marked in front of both council surveyors and engineers when a lorry tried the turn, got stuck, and blocked both roads for 30 minutes. (We asked…) The junction in question is the Basin Street/Abbey Street T-junction, behind Kalou Boutique on the Main Street which has been bollarded closed for a week now, with plans for a more permanent fixture already in play.

“That junction is completely unsafe for kids walking to school, it’s incredibly dangerous,” said Cllr Bill Clear, who has been agitating against this small stretch of the public realm since at least October 2019.

“For children coming from The Basin to school this way was incredibly dangerous, and the option for the Executive was to limit large vehicles from turning at this junction,” he said.

“On the day the [Council] staff were surveying the site for the bollards, a truck actually came down off the Main Street to take the turn and got stuck!” alleged the councillor.

“They were stuck for 30 minutes, and that was 10 days ago,” he said.

The closure was facilitated after the junction’s inclusion in the S38 provision of traffic calming measures in the interest of public safety for the Naas-Sallins Greenway along the canal just last month, after elected members were briefed, and agreed.

“We need a footpath from Kalou on Basin Street [something he first publicly called for in October 2019], and we can’t do that safely if there’s large vehicles coming up and down,” he argued.

“You’ve been a driver, you know the difficulties of blindspots [from the cab], particularly on tight lanes.

“I could never forgive myself if anything happened to a child here, and I had done nothing about it,” he said.

With regard to the criticism of others of the closure of this access point to Abbey Street, and the potential future problems for deliveries, he offered: “they have a straight up and down at the Library, and most companies use smaller delivery vehicles these days anyway”.

“I’ve only had one complaint from a constituent because of the bollards,” he said.

“Abbey Street improvements have been part of the Harbour Quarter Masterplan, and all the residents and businesses have been contacted to present their views on the area,” he said.

With regard to other commercial users of Abbey Street, Cllr Clear is equally vocal.

“Eir utility vehicles’ depot should not be in the middle of the town here, it has no business being there,” he said.

“”They should have been moved years ago, and that land sold for houses. It should not be there,” he said.

Former Green councillor Bob Quinn said: “the concept is terrific, the execution is really, really poor, and the closure has given rise to a number of issues that need to be addressed immediately”.

He worried about the deliveries to the businesses here, although agreed with Cllr Clear that the Eir premises “is wildly unsuitable for a town centre location”.

He criticised the “inconsiderate drivers- it’s all about them” who have already parked in front of the bollards making egress through difficult for cyclists and walkers, but conceded the Council should remedy that presently.

But the last word should be left to Cllr Seamie Moore, the oldest politician in Kildare.

“I berated the Roads Section that put out the compulsory removal of cars from the canal…[and] there is a creeping movement to using everything except a private motor car, but for people who always expect to park outside where they want, this custom will have to yield,” he added sagely.