A 'cringing' lack of safety at Kinneagh bus stops

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A councillor says she regularly 'cringes' when she sees the danger for people waiting on buses at Kinneagh Cross, and she has asked for clarity around funding safer facilities at the bus stops there, writes Brian Byrne.

Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer was responding to a report at the recent meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District, where she had asked for a safety assessment at the two official bus stops at Kinneagh with a view to installing a hard stand area so people could safely stay in off the road. She was informed that the stops are on the National Transport Authority's Connecting Ireland Programme for routes in Kildare and that the Council is 'currently seeking to resource the programme'.

Describing the high volumes and speed of traffic at the junction, Cllr O'Dwyer says pedestrians are forced to wait in dangerous conditions. "I drive this road almost daily and every time I see people waiting for the bus I cringe at how unsafe it is," she says. "On one side the bus stop pole is kind of stuck in an uneven grass bank and this is where pedestrians are expected to stand because the alternative is on the road. On the other side the pole is actually nearly hidden in a hedge, but again pedestrians are standing on the road."

The councillor says it is 'ludicrous' in an era when everybody is being encouraged to use public transport that people waiting for buses have no alternative but to stand on a busy road with no protection or barrier between them and the vehicles.

Welcoming the report from the Council's Sustainable Transport and Traffic Management Team to her motion, Cllr O'Dwyer asked for 'a bit more clarity' around seeking to resource the programme. "What exactly does this look like? How many positions are required to resource the programme, have the posts been advertised, will the programme only commence when the posts are filled? And will the council lose this funding if the programme is not commenced?"

She says the Council needs an update from the NTA or TFI on the matter, as this is where the funding will come from.

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