Calls to improve road safety at busy Kildare junction

Kildare County Council has been called on to conduct a review of Nan Brennan's junction on the L1002, near Calfstown in order to improve road safety in the area.

A motion was raised on the issue at a meeting of Clane-Maynooth municipal district on Friday February 7 by Cllr William Durkan (FG).

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Durkan said he was aware this particular junction was not on a list of priority Kildare junctions being addressed by the council at present, but nevertheless he wished to highlight it as a serious concern.

Noting the junction was looked into previously by the council, Cllr Durkan said the new reduced road speed limits being introduced would likely have some positive effect on road safety in the area, but it was one of the more dangerous junctions due to the “S-bend nature of the road.”

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Cllr Durkan said a number of people had flagged the area with him specifically as one where there hd been “a lot of close calls”, and he stressed again that while this junction was not part of the 10 junctions being addressed by the council, that it be treated as a priority.

Supporting the motion, Cllr Brendan Wyse (FG) pointed out the dangers of Nan Brennan's junction, and noted the area seemed to be used “as kind of a rat run” for commuters.

Cllr Wyse said he doubted the effectiveness of collision analysis - as mentioned in a council report -  as there were a large number of minor collisions in the area which people didn't bother reporting to An Garda Síochána.

However, he noted, these minor accidents were indicative that there was going to be "a serious accident at some point."

He said he didn't believe this needed to be of the scale of a junction improvement programme, but perhaps simply required some better road markings or improved signage on the road.

A report issued by the council stated: “Kildare County Council is currently progressing a a junction improvement project that is looking at ten junctions across the county. This project focuses on locations of interest identified in the Collision Analysis for Regional Road Network work completed by the Department of Transport Support Office.

“This location is not identified in this collision analysis, nor has it been included in the low-cost safety improvement schemes that are to be delivered in 2025. Kildare County Council does not have the funding or resources to review junctions that fall outside of these criteria.”