‘Starts nowhere, ends nowhere’ — Kildare cycle lane project slammed

CONSTRUCTION on a National Cycle Network (NCN) pilot project is currently underway in south Kildare but has drawn criticism from local residents who say the scheme lacks connectivity, is a waste of public money, with poor consultation.

The project, located along the R448 between Moone and Timolin, is part of a government initiative led by Kildare County Council in partnership with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

The council holds that the pilot aims to improve safety for cyclists and encourage more sustainable travel in rural towns and villages. But cycling groups say the new lanes are poorly designed, particularly at junctions, where cyclists may be forced to dismount – a feature campaigners argue undermines the whole point of segregated infrastructure.

Chairperson of Moone Timolin Positive Action Group, Mark Hillard said: “Cycling groups have been in touch with us saying that they will not use the cycle lane because it forces them to dismount from their bikes when they’re going through junctions.” 

“It’s a complete waste of €1.6 million,” said Mr Hilliard, and compared it to the government’s bike shed controversy just last year. The council have declined to say how much to the project is costing.

The project includes the installation of around 3km of unidirectional cycle lanes within the hard shoulder of the R448, as well as traffic calming features like narrower carriageways, junction modifications, and road surface markings.

One of the biggest concerns raised by residents is that the route fails to connect to any major destinations. It stretches from south of the R747 junction at Timolin to just outside Moone village, offering no link to Castledermot, Crookstown, or other nearby towns.

“It starts nowhere and ends nowhere,” said Mr Hillard.

Mr Hilliard and the action group met with Kildare County Council where they asked a pointed question: what benefit will this pilot scheme have for the community?

Mr Hilliard reported that the council explained that they wish to put the cycle track in to “see what the benefit will be” and whether it will be a good format for the rest of the country.

“There’s no funding to maintain it and there’s no measure of what success is,” said Mr Hillard. “And there’s no budget to take it down if it’s a disaster.” 

Local councillor Veralouise Behan recently called for the cycle route to extend to Crookstown, pointing out that cycle infrastructure further south in Carlow and Kilkenny has been a real asset to tourism. However, the council has confirmed that such extensions are not included in the current phase.

“We’re not against progress,” said Mr Hillard. “We just want to bring to the spotlight that we’re being completely ignored and we don’t want money being spent needlessly.” There was also criticism of the consultation process.

Kildare County Council said the scheme underwent formal consultation with detailed drawings available to view both online and in council offices from 7 May to 7 June 2024. Submissions were invited until June 14, and the project was formally presented to elected members at the September 2024 Athy Municipal District meeting.

Some claim they received no meaningful response to concerns raised in their submissions and reported only receiving acknowledgement after the project had already begun.

“We made a submission on the 12 June 2024, but we had no feedback on that until about four days after the work commenced,” said Mr Hillard. “This has just been rammed down our throats.” Another submission came from Irish NGO, Irish Cycling Campaign – a “passionate network of cycling advocates” who work to “create safer, more accessible public spaces”.

The campaign told Kildare Nationalist that it remains disappointed with the actions of Kildare County Council.

It said: “We made a fairly critical submission on this proposed pilot scheme, which was due to provide a possible template for further development of cycling facilities on the overall proposed national cycling network.

“To date we have had no response or notifications from Kildare CC in relation to feedback, design changes, or on the development of the scheme. This has been disappointing, but also unacceptable on the part of Kildare CC.” However, Kildare County Council affirmed the pilot project went through the statutory process including public consultation.

“Following the consultation, a number of amendments were made to the scheme in response to submissions made by members of the public,” said the council.

“The report on submissions was issued to the elected members and noted at a meeting of the Athy Municipal District held on 16 September 2024. This report was made available on Kildare County Council’s website.” The council also confirmed that its transport team recently met with the elected members and members of the local community in respect of the scheme.

The works, now visible along the R448, involve the reallocation of hard shoulders to accommodate cycle lanes, reduced lane widths, removal of certain turn lanes, and the addition of red thermoplastic surfacing at junctions.

Mr Hilliard told Kildare Nationalist that the local soccer club had severe difficulties running their summer camp due to the works, as well as local truckers who are having trouble getting by on the road.

It is alleged that two lorries damaged their side mirrors trying to get past each other due to the road narrowing works.