‘Motorists might be ignoring signage’ — Kildare Cllr

A local representative for the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District (MD) has expressed concerns that some motorists may be ignoring signage in one particular area.

The comments were made by Fine Gael Cllr Brendan Weld at the latest MD meeting, which was held on Friday, March 1 last.

He motioned for Kildare County Council (KCC) to 'implement further traffic calming measures at Kilshanroe National School, due to the concerns of parents and staff.'

Cllr Weld’s motion was also taken alongside the following motion put forward by his party colleague, Cllr Brendan Wyse: "That the council consider the installation of speed ramps at Scoil San Treasa in Kilshanroe, in addition to the existing engineering measures already in place here."

Independent Cllr Pádraig McEvoy seconded both motions.

KCC told Cllr Wyse in response to his motion: "This location was assessed and designed as part of the upgrade of the R402 scheme.

"The MD Office will arrange for a speed survey to be carried out."

The suggestion was made by Fine Gael Cllr Brendan Weld.

"The results can be shared with An Garda Síochána if speeding is an issue and enforcement is required," KCC added.

In response to Cllr Weld’s motion, KCC issued the exact same response.

While Cllr Wyse said that he accepted this response, Cllr Weld took issue with KCC’s response.

He said: "It’s still not effective, that’s the bottom line."

"I am still getting lots of complaints aout speeding in this area, and I think that some people are ignoring the signs in the area," he added.

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Cllr Weld reiterated that the school’s Principal, along with the Parent’s Association, are 'very concerned' about speeding in the area.

He suggested that chicanes be put into the area, adding: "I think that that’s the only thing that will slow it down."

An engineer with KCC told Cllr Weld that he would not recommend installing chicanes, but added that he was open to looking into implementing other traffic management measures.

A separate engineer told Cllr Weld that a speed survey could be carried out 'within a week or two.'

Regarding Cllr Weld’s suggestion about chicanes, this engineer also said: "We usually only put them on regional roads, but we can look at the results of the survey (and then decide)."

SAFETY REVIEW

In addition, Fianna Fáil Cllr Naoise Ó Cearúil motioned for KCC to 'carry out a safety review of the Newtown Road (R408, also known as the 'Rathcoffey Road'), Maynooth, and take measures to reduce speed and improve the safety of the road.'

His motion was seconded by his party colleague, Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick.

Commenting on his motion, Cllr Ó Cearúil said: "There is a lot of speeding happening outside the woodlands... could we look at implementing more (traffic calming) measures?"

KCC told Cllr Ó Cearúil: "The MD Engineer will arrange for a speed survey to be carried out and will engage with Cllr Ó Cearúil in relation to this motion."