'Displace cars' and make Kilcullen safe for cyclists, pedestrians
And if that means 'displacing cars', Orla O'Neill (above) says 'we should be doing it'.
She made the comments during the recent meeting in Scoil Bhride on the proposed Kilsaran extraction development in Ballyshannon, which would mean 72 heavy truck movements a day between the development and the motorway junction at Kilcullen.
The context was a belief expressed at the meeting that, despite assurances from the company to the contrary, there would be increased trucks traffic through the town if the Ballyshannon and similar extraction developments in the area went ahead in coming years.
Ms O'Neill had commented on the problem of construction trucks anecdotally using the Sunnyhill Road as a 'rat run'. Some of these appeared to be related to the construction of the Lidl distribution facility in Newbridge, and had been seen 'turning right in Athgarvan' to go to that construction site.
"I would say, though, that some of the speeds we are dealing with in Kilcullen are coming from ourselves," she said. "Also, local people are parking on footpaths, and on double yellow lines. Yes, this meeting is about Kilsaran and all of that, but the issue is also about ourselves."
She said that as part of the current speed limits review in the county, Kilcullen 'should be looking for a 30km/h limit' through the town. "And we should also be looking for all the speed limits on roads in the wider areas around the town to be brought down."
She also said that concerns about 'losing a few parking spaces' in Kilcullen were not important when considering making Kilcullen a safer place for residents. "We should be encouraging local people to walk or cycle instead of driving their cars into the town," she said.
Her thesis would include removing some existing on-street parking so that drivers would use car parking areas away from the street.
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