No new crossing in Sallins for now despite car threat

DESPITE the concerted efforts of two councillors to improve road safety either side of the canal in Sallins between the GAA grounds and the primary school, the council is unable to proceed as it requires the purchase of third-party lands.

Cllrs Carmel Kelly and Bill Clear brought almost identical motions to the recent meeting of the Naas MD to upgrade the current crossing between the GAA grounds and the new pedestrian bridge into a zebra crossing “as a matter of priority”, and because “cars often drive through while (children) are crossing”. 

However, both councillors were given exactly the same answer by the Council’s senior traffic engineer Donal Hodgins.

“It is not proposed to change the unsignalised crossings along the Kerdiffstown Road (Church Avenue – south) and the Sherlockstown Road (Canal View – north),” he said in his formal reply.

“To upgrade them involves the purchase of third-party lands, the removal of mature trees and an upgrade to the public lighting at the crossings. 

There is neither the financial nor staff resources to undertake this work,” he explained. 

“It should be noted that there are sufficient forward sightlines to these crossings and the main concern at this location is driver behaviour. 

"Furthermore, the implementation of the Grand Canal Greenway link across the vehicular ramp and the R407 (the main road through the village) will assist in dissuading traffic that it has alternate routes to using the Sherlockstown Road. Finally, Type B zebra crossings - those without belisha beacons (flashing yellow lollipops) - are not authorised for use in County Kildare."

“Look, we were advised to wait for these designs,” said cllr Kelly after the meeting.

“I’m willing to wait to see these designs, and based on that, I’ll see where I go from there,” she said. “He (Donal Hodgins) said there will be more measures to slow traffic around Lock 13, but the bottom line is we need to see the designs for this."

“The new pedestrian bridge has made life so easy for children going to school from the north side of the canal, and parents are so much happier letting the children walk to school over the bridge rather than run the gauntlet of cars and trucks on the canal (main) bridge,” she pointed out.

“However, this crossing is a raised table, and looks like a ramp to traffic, rather than a crossing which it technically is,” she commented.

“Did you know the two white lines on top of this make it a crossing? Neither did I,” she said.

“He (Donal Hodgins) argued that the council would have to install electricity for crossing poles and beacons, and I’m going ‘have you never heard of solar?’,” she argued not unreasonably.

The (vehicular) down ramp at Lock 13 is to be narrowed for just pedestrians and cyclists, and when they do that, the awful turn around Lock 13 will be widened, and this is what we’re being advised to wait for. I’ll wait, but I’ll still be going for a proper crossing,” she declared.

Cllr Clear agreed wholeheartedly. 

“I’ve seen a number of cars on the school run ramping over this tabletop crossing in a hurry to get their kids to school, while children are trying to walk across to school,” he said. “We need that crossing."