Residents angry at proposed 'Trump's Mexican Wall' in Naas
Residents living along the proposed route for the Naas Inner Relief Road are angry that an 11-foot wall they have likened to US President Donald Trump’s ‘Mexican Wall’ will be built near their estate if plans for the project proceed.
Consultants hired by Kildare Co Council have opted for Route 2 for the Inner Relief Road which runs close to hundreds of homes as it cuts from the Dublin Road to the Blessington Road along the edge of the grounds of Naas Racecourse.
Population areas
Population areas to be affected by the Route include: Mountain View, Sunday's Well, The Paddocks, Elmwood, Woodlands, Kingsfurze, Kings Court, The Gallops and Racecourse Gate, as well as areas of Monread and Tipper Road.
The Council insisted the Inner Relief Road will alleviate current traffic congestion and delays experienced in Naas Town Centre as well as on the existing R445 Dublin Road and the R410 Blessington Road.
Council officials said the project paves the way for the construction of hundreds of new houses in Naas by 2021.
Wall
But residents in the Kings Court and The Gallops areas are angry that a 7-foot wall will be built along the front of the estates blocking their view of the green pastures of Naas Racecourse.
The height of this wall will rise to 11 feet at one point.
One resident said: "This wall will reduce the value of homes in this area."
"We bought our houses without knowing about this Inner Relief Road."
Another resident said: "It has been compared to Donald Trump's Mexican Wall coming to Naas where we will become prisoners in our own estate."
A resident of Kings Court added: "We will be cut off completely from the Racecourse which is across our own road.
"How will that 'maintain and improve the quality of life of citizens..........' - which is what the Council's consultants state the Inner Relief Road will do?"
The closing date for public submissions on the Proposed Route is Wednesday, April 10 and it will be voted on by councillors by April 16.