Cllr Anne Breen’s motion at April's MD meeting to install two age-friendly parking spaces in Poplar Square is to be welcomed, however, such spaces for those with reduced mobility or a disability should be part of an over-arching circulation plan for Naas to improve the liveability of the town.
The best plan for Naas is one that puts active travel at the centre. There would certainly be a place for disability and age-friendly on-street parking spaces in such a plan for the less able due to age, illness or disability, however the driving force behind such a plan would be to reduce dependency on the car and that would ultimately mean fewer on-street parking spaces as we make more room for other road users and public transport.
Cycling from Sallins to Naas for a family should be a safe and viable option. What’s more, we need to see the introduction of a regular shuttle bus connecting Sallins and Naas. In my view, it needs to run regularly, and extend as far as Jigginstown out the Newbridge Road, looping out to Piper's Hill, servicing the schools and estates out as far as the Killashee.
Why is this kind of circulation plan desirable? It will bring more people into the centre of town because we’ll have a safer, more pleasant town centre. It will also ensure that regular bus schedules are reliable, and not delayed battling their way thru-traffic in the centre of the town.
As it stands, John's Lane was meant to be going one-way, but now it's deemed to be required to carry out a wider traffic management review. It has been reported that Dunnes Stores has not implemented the entirety of the planning conditions when it comes to traffic and pedestrian access. If there is a non-compliance issue, then it needs to be addressed. Traffic flows here are simply not working at the moment. Five lanes are given over to cars and vehicles; pedestrians and cyclists are forgotten in this area.
I want to see Kildare County Council commit to introducing a circulation plan and to name a date for the implementation out of this plan.
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