Provision of extra bus stop sought for this Kildare village

The provision of an extra bus stop has been sought for one North Kildare village.

The request was made by Fine Gael councillor William Durkan at the latest Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting, which took place on Friday, December 5 last.

At this meeting, Cllr Durkan motioned for Kildare County Council (KCC) to engage with the National Transport Authority (NTA) regarding the provision of an extra bus stop at Sweeney’s Cross in Rathcoffey, for the 139 route.

In addition, his motion called for KCC to "outline the results of any investigation into this matter to date".

Cllr Durkan's motion was seconded by Independent Cllr Pádraig McEvoy.

Responding to Cllr Durkan's motion, KCC said via the report it presented at the meeting that it has over 500 bus stop locations across the county that require improvements, and that this proposed new bus stop location is under consideration.

KCC also said: "The provision of bus stop infrastructure at this location is not straightforward; KCC will engage with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the service provider, and a full investigation of the proposed location will be
carried out to clarify if a pair of bus stops are feasible at this location, subject to staff resources."

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'LOOK AT ALL OPPORTUNITIES'

Speaking further on his motion, Cllr Durkan told KCC that the residents in the village have repeatedly raised the potential provision of a bus stop "time and time again".

He also said that he welcomed KCC's investigation and further urged KCC "to look at all opportunities".

"It [the provision of an extra bus stop] would really benefit the local community," Cllr Durkan claimed.

Senior Executive Engineer with KCC, Donal Hodgins, was also in attendance at the meeting and informed the members that the NTA had recently changed the supplier of its shelters.

"It is not expected that we will get one until next year due to supply issues," he added.

Cllr Durkan subsequently urged KCC to explore the possibility of contacting "national representatives and / or national groups" in an attempt to address the situation.

Fine Gael Cllr William Durkan. Photograph credit: kildarecoco.ie

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Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.