Call for pedestrian crossing at Hillcrest

A pedestrian crossing near Hillcrest is urgently needed, Kilcullen told local representatives at the recent meeting organised by Kilcullen Community Action, writes Brian Byrne.

One business operator from Hillcrest told of it taking her nearly five minutes to cross the road on a recent occasion.

The matter was raised under 'Traffic' at the meeting, which had seven councillors and three TDs in attendance.

The need for bus shelters and bus pull-in bays was also brought to the attention of the meeting.

Works are continuing (above) on the refurbishment of the footpath at Hillside and the marking of parking bays.

Sunnyhill Road issues raised

A call for the banning of heavy goods vehicles from the Sunnyhill Road was raised at the recent meeting between Kilcullen people and their local representatives, writes Brian Byrne.

It was one of a number of traffic issues which were outlined to councillors and TDs at the meeting, which was organised and hosted by Kilcullen Community Action.

"Residents will tell you that they take their lives in their hands every day on the road, which is used as a rat-run by traffic trying to avoid Kilcullen," KCA chairman Ray Kelly said, adding that speed on the route continued to be a problem, despite the positioning of a Garda car there from time to time.

The politicians were asked for the Council to consider a HGV ban, and traffic slowing measures such as speed bumps or narrowing of sections of the road.

Dangers due to the traffic lights setup in Kilcullen itself were also raised, particularly for traffic trying to turn into the Milemill Road from the south.

Mayor of Kildare Ivan Keatley said the current lights simply weren't suitable for the need and should be replaced as a matter of safety. "They need a major overhaul," he said.

Ray Kelly said that Council engineers inspecting the lights decreed them as 'working perfectly'. "If they were working perfectly, we wouldn't have the tailbacks we get through the town," he added. He also said further narrowing of the footpath at the crossroads could provide safer turning lanes.

The local representatives were also told that box junction lining was needed at a number of estate entrances, for example at Avondale. In general, road lining was a problem through the town.

A specific related issue is the lack of markings at the entrance to Market Square, which regularly had vehicles coming down the hill overshooting the turn onto the bridge and driving into the square.

Centre wants KCC to help with insurance of access

Kilcullen Community Centre has written to Kildare County Council to see if the authority's Parks Department can cover access paths and roads to the campus for insurance purposes, writes Brian Byrne.

The issue was raised at the recent meeting with local political representatives hosted by Kilcullen Community Action, when Liam Sherry of the Pitch & Putt Club noted that all organisations on the site had to indemnify the Community Centre against claims for using the access.

The problem applies to paths from the Nicholastown side and the main access to the campus from the Curragh Road, all of which are technically private ways.

"People use these as public ways, and that can bring difficulties relating to insurance liability," Liam Sherry says.

In addition to the sports hall, all-weather pitch and meeting rooms provided by the Centre, eight other local community and sports organisations located on or near the campus use the access.

At the meeting, Deputy Martin Heydon suggested the Council would be open to considering the insurance issue.

'Fine premises for cig butts litter' suggestion

The Kildare County Council Litter Warden should fine public premises which have significant numbers of cigarette butts outside their premises, local political representatives have been told, writes Brian Byrne.

"That way, they'd make sure that their staff and customers smoking outside would properly dispose of their butts," said Kilcullen Community Action chairman Ray Kelly, who was making the community presentation on the night.

The matter came up under the 'Council' heading on a list of some 60 items headlined over the course of the meeting, which seven councillors and three TDs attended.

Fast food litter and discarded betting shop slips also feature on the litter problem.

Other Council matters discussed included verges and hedge cutting on the Sunnyhill Road, which residents of the area say make exit from their estates dangerous.

Advance notification of opportunities for grants and other funding for community projects was also something which Kilcullen would like the local representatives to provide.

The future of the Valley Park was touched on when Noel Clare of KCA outlined to the representatives its history since it was purchased and developed as a community facility by the long-defunct Community Council.

He told the meeting how KCA/Tidy Towns had maintained the park over decades, and how a personal injury in recent times had affected the insurance which KCA held in relation to it.

The meeting heard that discussions had taken place with Kildare County Council to take over the park so that it would be covered by the Council's insurance. Deputy Martin Heydon said the Council was 'up for it' and the matter should be pursued.

'No planning permission' for neon signs?

Neon signs on fast food outlets in Kilcullen may not have planning permission, the recent meeting between local politicians and Kilcullen people heard, writes Brian Byrne.

The matter arose under the 'Business' heading in the list of things which Kilcullen Community Action/Tidy Towns had identified as requiring action and support from the representatives.

Fianna Fail TD and Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghaill said that Kildare County Council hadn't given permission for such signs for a long time, though he added that if the Council hadn't acted to have them taken down over a certain period, it was likely too late to have them removed.

The issue was part of a broader discussion on shop frontages, some of which aren't considered to be in keeping with the streetscape.

Eoin Houlihan of KCA wondered if the owners of such premises could be asked to change them? Councillors suggested that the new premises improvement grants could be used to make changes if the owners wished.

The meeting was told that details of the grants are being included with the rates bills sent to businesses.

The matter of derelict buildings on the street was also raised. KCA's Ray Kelly said that thankfully it wasn't as big a problem as it had been, a sign of improving economy. But the question of what could be done about such buildings elicited a reply from Cllr Seamie Moore that it is 'a very long process'. "There has to be a warning, then a second warning, and the prospect of a charge on the property. A CPO can be used after two years if there has been no response from the owner."

Call for enforcement of parking regulations

The lack of enforcement of parking regulations was highlighted at the recent meeting of Kilcullen people and local councillors and TDs, writes Brian Byrne.

In particular, chairman of Kilcullen Community Action Ray Kelly wondered if there needed to be by-laws in force for the town for gardai to enforce the rules around double yellow lines?

Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin and other local representatives confirmed that no by-laws were needed, and the gardai could deal with offenders.

Ray Kelly noted that he had on occasion seen Garda Traffic Corps cars ignore such breaches of regulations and fail to ticket offending vehicles.

The KCA presentation outlined specific parking problems and solutions, including the need for implementation of lined parking bays on Hillside, and for linear parking instead of nose-in opposite the Town Hall — drivers with big cars parked tail out from there often impede traffic flow.

Other parking needs reported to the political representatives include a Disabled Parking bay near the bank and Town Hall.

"Most of the problems we have are simple things to fix, especially if regulations were enforced," the KCA chairman concluded.

The Diary is preparing further reports from the evening which will be published as they are ready.

Efforts to find sewage smell source

A camera survey of a main sewer in Kilcullen has been undertaken by the local authority water services in an attempt to find the problem causing sewage odours on Main Street, the recent Town Meeting with local political representatives heard, writes Brian Byrne.

Responding to one of the issues raised at the meeting under the heading of Tidy Towns, Deputy Martin Heydon said that while the initial response by the Council to approaches by a local doctor that the problem 'was in his building', the authority now acknowledged that there was a wider problem.

The deputy said that after 'significant pressure' on the Council, it had now been found that there 'is a pattern' to the occurrence of the smells, and the owners of the various affected premises had been keeping a log.

"Council officials are going through the results this week," Deputy Heydon said, and promised that he would keep the community apprised of the matter.

KCA chairman Ray Kelly said it was 'great information' but that it was important that such matters should be 'communicated back to us'.

Other matters under the Tidy Towns heading were also discussed, notably the problem with dog excrement, where the question was raised about 'who polices it?'. Ray Kelly noted that when he had once approached a person about their dog's activity he had been given a short answer.

The partially related issue of public litter bins was also outlined, with the local representatives being told that there were just two public bins on Main Street, and the problem is mainly one of having them emptied. "Kilcullen Community Action has adopted a no bins policy, but maybe we should have bins. But they need to be emptied when full, especially at weekends."

On litter, Ray Kelly told the representatives that KCA had been informed that the Council did litter picking three times a week, but this had never been observed. "Maybe they come by and don't see litter," he said, a probable reference to the litter-picking work of Kilcullen Tidy Towns volunteers.

The town signage project currently in train by KCA was outlined to the councillors and TDs, who were asked to support the implementation when that comes around.

The Diary is preparing further reports from the evening which will be published as they are ready.

Hillside footpaths to be repaired

The footpath on Hillside across the road from Centra is on a list of two such projects which will be addressed by Kildare County Council before the end of the year, writes Brian Byrne.

Cllr Rob Power told last night's KCA meeting with local public representatives that these were on a list of projects to be carried out by the Council's engineers.

He was responding to criticism of the footpaths all through the town, made on behalf of the community by Kilcullen Community Action Chairman Ray Kelly during the meeting, which brought three TDs and seven councillors to Kilcullen.

Cllr Power said the Hillside footpath was in extremely poor condition because residents parked their cars on it. He told the audience that the work will also involve lining parking bays alongside the refurbished path. "This will also have the effect of making the road narrower, which will help with speed control."

The councillor also said that the new stretch of footpath to be built to the Lui na Greine estate will be happening 'before the end of the month'.

The KCA presentation on footpaths also highlighted the need for a path on the Milemill Road to the two graveyards. Ray Kelly said the walk at the moment is 'dangerous' and that it is 'only a matter of time' before something serious happens.

He suggested that there was a case for 'thinking outside the box' on the issue, perhaps by considering a footpath 'on the other side of the hedge?'. "Maybe a raised walkway, you could make a feature of it?"

The non-footpath alongside what's now Woodbine Books was also mentioned. During resurfacing of the road some years ago, the existing path wasn't replaced and now there's only a line to mark the pedestrian area. "The engineers in the Council must have some ideas on this," the KCA chairman noted.

Even relatively new footpaths, those from Nicholastown to the motorway bridge, urgently need attention, the local representatives were told, with roots and other trip hazards making it dangerous. And the footpaths on Nicholastown estate, the oldest one in town, are in terrible condition, very dangerous for the older people who make up a high proportion of the estate's residents.

The representatives were also urged to have ducting put in place when footpaths are being fixed, so that they are ready for under-grounding of cables when that becomes possible.

The Diary is preparing further reports from the evening which will be published as they are ready.

Meeting was a night of communication

With some 40 people in attendance at last night’s public meeting with local representatives, the KCA-hosted event could be deemed a fairly successful initiative, writes Brian Byrne.

Not least because there were also no less than 11 local representatives present, which may well be a first for the community, or any community of our size.

They included the three TDs of Kildare South, Martin Heydon FG and the two FF deputies, Ceann Comhairle Sean O’Fearghaill and Fiona O’Loughlin.

The Mayor of Kildare, Ivan Keatley, was also in attendance, along with Naas Municipal District councillors Ann Breen, Fintan Brett, Billy Hillis, Seamie Moore, Sorcha O’Neill, Rob Power, and Darren Scully.

The chairman of Kilcullen Community Action, Ray Kelly, moved the evening along efficiently, highlighting issues under a number of headings, items which had been submitted by KCA members and local people.

At the beginning he read from a Diary report of the last time there had been such a Town Meeting, in advance of the local elections at which the current councillors had been elected, and he noted that almost all of the issues mentioned then were still problems today. “Basically everything that was mentioned at that meeting two years ago is nearly a photocopy of what was said then,” he said. “Nothing has been done.”

He said there have been ‘positives’ in a number of areas, but typically there are still issues in business support, footpaths, road design safety, traffic, and communication from the Council on things that are planned.

“Now, though, we want to look to the future,” he finished his preamble, and the meeting continued with focus on details. In the course of the next hour and a half, a significant amount of update information was given back by some of the local representatives on some of the issues raised.

The meeting concluded with a period of socialising over refreshments at which, hopefully, a closer relationship with the representatives was cemented.

The Diary is preparing a complete report from the evening which will be published later.