Upgrades to busy Kildare crossroads ruled out by council

Kildare County Council has ruled out upgrades to the Taghadoe crossroads on Straffan Road, as according to the local authority, upgrades were carried out ahead of the Ryder Cup in 2006.

Cllr Donna Phelan (FF) raised a motion at a recent Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting, calling on the council to consider including Taghadoe Cross Junction in the council's low-cost safety improvement scheme.

She argued that the volume and speed of traffic makes it “impossible” for residents, business owners and other users of the L5037 to exit onto the R406 travelling in either direction to Maynooth/Clane and Straffan.

She asked that if it were not possible to include Taghadoe Cross Junction in the low-cost safety improvement scheme, that the council advise on what improvement works could be made at the location.

Speaking at the meeting, which was held on Friday February 7 2025, Cllr Phelan said many residents had contacted councillors about the speed and volume of traffic on that road.

“People can't get out”, she said, and were sitting in traffic for 15 or 20 minutes trying to exit onto the R406 from the L5037.

She asked if there was “anything” that could be done to alleviate traffic in the area, “a roundabout, traffic lights...something.”

She said that with the plans for solar farms in the area, traffic congestion was going to be made worse with heavy construction traffic.

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Cllr Angela Feeney (LAB), who tabled a similar motion at the meeting, said she was receiving regular contact from people who had experienced “near misses” in that particular area.

She said it's “almost impossible” to exit towards Straffan at certain times of the day, due to the sheer volumes of traffic.

Drivers were travelling up to or in excess of 80kph in either direction, she said, while other drivers were “taking chances” trying to join the R406.

She asked if it would be possible to install a speed camera or speed bumps either side of the junction.

KCC responded by saying that Taghadoe cross-roads were upgraded as part of the Barberstown to Windgates scheme ahead of the Ryder Cup in 2006.

This included the installation of right turning lanes and improved signage.

The council noted that low-cost safety improvement funding is for signage and road markings, and that the existing road markings and signage “do not require upgrading.”

According to the local authority, “the main issue observed at the junction is the volume of traffic passing on the main regional road, which means there are very few breaks in traffic to allow traffic exiting the L5037 to turn right towards Straffan.”