'From safe road to death trap' Kildare community protests cycle path

MORE than 250 people showed up to protest against a new €1.8 million cycle lane on the R448 between Moone and Timolin — part of a National Cycle Network (NCN) pilot project that locals say is poorly designed, lacks connectivity, and will go largely unused.

The project, led by Kildare County Council (KCC) in partnership with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), involves about 3km of unidirectional cycle lanes built into the former hard shoulder, along with traffic calming measures such as narrower carriageways, junction modifications, and coloured surfacing. It is intended to improve safety for cyclists and promote sustainable travel in rural towns and villages.

However, it has united residents, motorists and cyclists, alike who say the scheme has made the road dangerous.

They argue the one-foot-wide raised cycle path verge replacing the hard shoulder leaves nowhere for vehicles to pull in, forces pedestrians off the road, and creates an “obstacle course” for road users.

Local community member and regular road user Florry Kenny said: “It was one of the safest roads before the works were done. Now it’s a death trap. You can’t go on the hard shoulder when being overtaken and pedestrians can’t use it – they’re not insured on it.

“TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) have just landed this in on everyone with no consultation. The farmers don’t want it, the truckers don’t want it and the locals don’t want it. We requested lighting in the village which never happened, yet they can spend €1.6 million on a bike lane out there.”

Signs at the protest, sponsored by local business Dunnes Haulage, read: ‘Nobody asked for this’, ‘Starts nowhere ends nowhere’, and ‘Makes the bike shed look like great value’ – a nod to the nationwide bike shed scandal costing €336,000 on the grounds of the Dáil, which residents have been comparing the Moone-Timolin cycle lane to.

Local cycling clubs, once regular users of the road for events, have said they will not use the new lane, citing junction designs that force riders to dismount – a criticism echoed by the Irish Cycling Campaign, which made a critical submission during consultation but said it never received a response from the council.

Local cyclist Barry Moore told the Kildare Nationalist that the road was perfectly safe to use before construction started:

“No cyclist will go inside that curb with no one to clear the debris. No one wants punctures, and we have to stop at the junction and get off the bike.” Sinn Fein TD, Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh, who was the only elected representative present on the day, walked in support of the campaign, and said that “it is clear that nobody was listened to”.

She continued: “The bike club submitted into the consultation process, the locals, the residents did, and none of them were listened to. It's just another example of a waste of taxpayers' money.

“Everyone has said they're not going to use it. It's going to push the pedestrians out from their walking loop.

“It just seems to be another case of the government not listening to the people.” Local haulage operator Noel Lawler said the first time he saw the lane it made his “blood boil.” “Piers Café is used by elderly people and this road will impact them getting here. There will be a backlog of traffic and it will affect local businesses like Charlie Wynne’s and Glanbia.”

 Local publican Paddy O’Brien called it a danger.

“It’s like an obstacle course. A lot of people love that walk and now won’t be able to do it. A split second is all it takes for an accident. One accident is too many.” Chair of the Moone Timolin Positive Action Group, Mark Hilliard, described the council’s Section 38 consultation as a “sham” – explaining that no adequate consultation was made with the community.

Members of the Action Group attended a meeting with Kildare County Council on the subject, but none came from it feeling satisfied.

Mr Hilliard addressed the crowd – atop a bench laden with bottled water and cupcakes for the protesters, and said a meeting with the council felt like a “tick-box exercise” and criticised the council’s suggestion that one benefit would be stopping boy racers from doing donuts: “They’ll just be out in the village instead.” Campaigner and community stalwart Noreen Kilrane added that walkers will be unable to use the road for walking anymore, as insurance does not protect those using a cycle lane to walk.

“Four weeks ago, cones arrived on the road. It starts at the top of the hill and ends nowhere. I jog out there all the time and now we’re not even legally allowed to be on it. They’re convinced we’ll give up, but we’re not going to.” 

Kildare County Council repeated on Monday that the scheme went through statutory public consultation in May–June 2024, with amendments made in response to submissions. A report was presented to councillors and made available online. The council confirmed its transport team has met with elected members and local representatives since. The council confirmed the budget for the project was €1.8million and that the contractor would maintain the cycle path for 12 months before it came the responsibility of Kildare County Council

A public meeting, which was announced at the end of the protest, is being planned by local campaigners for next Thursday – with all welcome to attend.

The main takeaway from the protest is that the local community is standing together on this issue, joined by their mutual distaste for the council project, and with one main goal in mind: “We want it gone.” 

Kildare County Council have also announced their intention to legally lower the speed limit on the road from 100kph to 60kph from 26 August to 19 December to facilitate construction and people have until 5pm this evening (Tuesday) to make submission the matter.