BREAKING: Money for €20m project to reconstruct Naas town centre is 'withdrawn'

A project that would have fundamentally changed vehicle, pedestrian and cycle traffic in Naas town centre has been shelved.

The project was to have been undertaken at a cost of  €20m and would have been led by Kildare County Council.

The plan, known as Pathfinder, would have created better public spaces (notably in Poplar Square and Market Square), narrowed the 15 metre wide main street between Poplar Square and Murtagh’s Corner, led to cycle lanes and created a new junction at Murtagh’s Corner which would have seen traffic from Kilcullen road moving on to Corban’s Lane instead of gather main street.

It was also proposed to ban trucks from the town centre.

The project’s aim is to make the town safer and more accessible for those walking or cycling.

Green Party councillor Bob Quinn blamed KCC for the delay saying he understood GP leader and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan was not convinced KCC had the appetite to move it forward.

“We needed a little bit of enthusiasm and a little bit gung-ho like”, said Cllr Quinn.

He said the project needed to “be rolled out at a rapid pace and be completed by the end 2025.”

He said the minister had met KCC officials in February and said the project “needs to be done quickly” and “get moving, go get the money.”

Cllr Quinn said that Mr Ryan made it clear it “has to get done at pace.”

Referring to project delays, Cllr Quinn said “a big frustration for people is it takes forever to build a bike lane” adding that unless KCC immediately addresses delays “I can’t see the minister going back on it.”

He also claimed that if Pathfinder “is gone” then “other projects could go” and “we’re potentially looking at three, four, five years of stagnation in Naas.”

However, it’s understood that the only money approved for the project was €75,000 to be used for early stage elements such as surveys or some design work.

Naas Mayor Bill Clear has laid the blame for the shelving  of the project at the doors of Minister Ryan, the National Transport Authority and Department of Transport.

Cllr Clear said it only emerged on Monday that the project would not proceed and KCC “was not told why.”

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Cllr Clear added: “There were concerns about where the €20m would come from because neither the minister nor the NTA had indicated where it could come from.

“It is concerning that it was done in this manner,” said Cllr Clear.

There may have been concerns about pace of the project but a major project like this is legally bound to go through a schedule of stages, including seeking the views of the public, before work starts.

“They did not give us the money to start this and €75,000 would not buy an apartment in Naas,” he added.

KCC has acknowledged the importance of the project and has indicated it is committed to exploring ways of seeking funding including communicating with Mr Ryan.