Meeting today on controversial pilot cycle scheme

Transport Infrastructure Ireland representatives will be at Moone Hall this afternoon from 3pm to explain the rationale behind the pilot cycle lane project on the R448 in the area, writes Brian Byrne. Representatives from the project designers, AECOM, will also attend.

A public meeting at 8pm, hosted by Moone and Timolin Positive Action Group, will discuss the outcomes from the day.

The €1.6 million project has generated profound disquiet in the local community and amongst road users, with descriptions including 'white elephant' and a scheme for 'unicorns'. Everyone with a view or concern is invited to attend at any time in the afternoon.

Specifically, the invitation extends to farming community members from 3pm, haulage and other transport contractors from 4pm, cyclists at 5pm, and local sports clubs from 5.45pm.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

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Cllr seeks bus stops clarification

Clarification on the status of bus stops in Kilcullen has been sought by Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer, writes Brian Byrne. This is against the background of the success of the well-used Kilcullen-Newbridge route.

The councillor has requested a meeting on site with the relevant KCC officials and says she will share an update when that takes place.

She made the comments in a note that the council has recently announced proposed locations and specifications for two new bus stops at Two Mile House, near Chapel Hill.

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Action day on illegal use of e-scooters

Scooter image by Norma Mortenson via Pexels.

Today is a Garda National Day of Action on the illegal use of personal powered transporters such as e-scooters, writes Brian Byrne. There will be enforcement checkpoints across the Kildare/Carlow Division throughout the day.

Illegal PPTs will be seized, and fixed charge notices will be issued to those with illegal machines or those using legal ones incorrectly.

There will also be road safety engagement to ensure users know how to use their transporters within the rules of the road.

Although no licence, registration or insurance is required, Users must be 16 years or older and obey a speed limit of 20km/h. E-scooters are banned from footpaths, and users can't carry passengers.

Maximum power output is 400 watts or less, and the maximum weight (including batteries) is 25 kg. 

The maximum speed limit is 20 km/h.

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TMH road closure

A section of the L2032 road from Two Mile House village to Mylerstown Cross will be closed from 12 August until 1 September, to facilitate upgrade works to the water infrastructure by Uisce Éireann.

Diversions will be via Stephenstown South (L6073) and the Kilcullen Road (R448).

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Temporary bus change at Two Mile House

Images courtesy Cllr TRacey O'Dwyer.

Because of road works on the L2032, the Local Link Route 880 bus service will temporarily arrive at Two Mile House via Stephenstown Lawn. It will then do a U-turn outside Church Hill housing estate and return the same way to the R448.

Uisce Éireann is carrying out the work.

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Traffic lights and wheelchair kerb access for MD meeting

Images: Google.

Two motions on Kilcullen's transport infrastructure will be discussed at next week's meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District, writes Brian Byrne. The meeting is next Wednesday, 16 July, at 10.30am in the Council Chamber in Naas.

In the first, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer is asking that Kildare County Council carry out a physical assessment of the sequencing and traffic movements at the traffic lights, to ascertain if the sequencing is working effectively for both pedestrians and motorists.

Her second motion seeks the installation of dropped kerb sections along the footpath opposite Nicholastown and the Conroy Park estates, to allow wheelchair users in particular to access the new community walkway around Kilcullen GAA.

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Query on bus turning location

Kildare County Council is being asked today if they have started work on identifying a suitable location for a bus turning point in Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne. The facility is required to support the existing Local Link and other public transport providers.

The query is by way of a question from Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer at today's meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District.

The councillor notes that identifying the facility must be provided within 12 months of the adoption of the Kilcullen Settlement Plan.

Under the plan, locations such as business campuses north and south of the town should be considered. 

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NTA to review impact of 717 bus cessation

A review of the impact of the removal of the 717 bus service from Kilcullen by JJ Kavanagh is being undertaken by the National Transport Authority, writes Brian Byrne. This follows a formal enquiry by Cllr Chris Pender.

The Clonmel to Dublin Airport service, which ran twice a day in each direction, was ended last week when the company eliminated stops between Kilkenny and Red Cow Dublin, in what they described as a 'streamlining' of the route. The removal has particularly affected morning commuters to Naas and Dublin from Kilcullen.

In a statement, the Social Democrats councillor says the NTA has confirmed their review which will assess the impact and whether intervention is needed.

“The 717 was one of the few options for people commuting to work, college or the airport," Cllr Pender says. "Its removal hasn’t just caused inconvenience — it’s had a real impact on people’s lives.”

He says the NTA must explore reinstating the stop or delivering a suitable alternative.

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Annoyance at Kavanagh bus cut

There was a significant degree of annoyance this morning as a group of passengers for the 6.50am 717 Kavanagh bus service to Dublin were told it wouldn't be coming through Kilcullen from Monday next, writes Brian Byrne. The company announced the cessation of all pickups between Kilkenny and Red Cow Dublin earlier this week in a 'streamlining' of the Clonmel to Dublin Airport route.

"That's going to make things very difficult for me," one waiting woman passenger told the Diary. "It's awkward enough using public transport as it is." Another passenger takes the bus to Naas every morning when his roster is the early shift at the coffee shop where he works. "I have to be in before eight o'clock on those days, so it's rather annoying. The 717 is the only viable one for me, especially at weekends."

Kilcullen is one of three County Kildare stops to be removed from the service along with Athy and Naas. In all, eight stops are being eliminated across three counties and the northbound service will be non-stop from Kilkenny City to Red Cow Dublin and afterwards to Dublin City and Dublin Airport.

The move means there's no direct service to Dublin Airport in the mornings from Kilcullen as the two 130 services terminate at Merrion Square West in Dublin City at 7.57am and 8.59am respectively.

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Kilcullen loses another bus service

Kilcullen is losing another bus service from next Monday, writes Brian Byrne. The JJ Kavanagh 717 service from Clonmel to Dublin will no longer come through the town.

Kilcullen is one of three County Kildare stops to be removed from the service along with Athy and Naas. In all, eight stops are being eliminated across three counties and the northbound service will be non-stop from Kilkenny City to Red Cow Dublin and afterwards to Dublin City and Dublin Airport.

The company says they are making the changes to 'deliver a faster, more consistent and altogether more extra-ordinary journey for the vast majority of our passengers'.

In a statement about 'optimising our network' the company say that a review of service performance showed that 'certain bus stops had significantly low passenger numbers, making it difficult to justify their continued operation'.

Since 2011, bus services through Kilcullen have been severely cut back by both private operators and Bus Eireann. This was despite commitments given in 2009 by both groups that services through Kilcullen would be retained after the opening of further sections of the M9 motorway.

In 2015 a 'Save our Buses' campaign was set up after service cutbacks affecting Castledermot, Castlecomer, Athy and Kilcullen. At one public meeting the bosses of Bus Eireann and the National Transport Authority were told bluntly that they were effectively 'abandoning' rural Ireland. There was no representative there from JJ Kavanagh, the other primary, and private operator on the affected routes.

In 2017, JJ Kavanagh made further changes to their schedules which meant that one morning and two evening services bypassed Kilcullen and other villages between Kilkenny and Dublin.

JJ Kavanagh exited the 129 route between Kilcullen and Newbridge in July 2022 in a series of post-Covid cutbacks due to 'low patronage' and the cessation of a temporary Covid-measure subsidy. After a temporary service for more than a year a permanent Dunlavin-Newbridge was established under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan.

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Road markings requests to be followed up

Motorway bridge.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland is to be asked to refresh the line markings on the Kilcullen motorway bridge, writes Brian Byrne. This follows a question from Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer at the recent meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge MD as to whether the Council or TII are responsible for this work — the response was that it is TII's. The councillor says she will follow the matter up with the organisation.

Meanwhile, the meeting also heard that a request for refreshing and installing new line markings in Kilcullen, Mile Mill Junction and Athgarvan will be considered 'subject to budget'. This follows a motion from Cllr O'Dwyer on the matter. Officials have agreed to meet and examine the locations in question, but said the MD's budget for line markings is 'extremely limited'.

Worn markings in Kilcullen.

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New minibus service in Kilcullen

Lisa McCoy, from double deckers to 16-seat minibus.

Lisa McCoy had family connections with bus and truck business and remembers that even as a child she always wanted to drive buses, writes Brian Byrne. Being a self-acknowledged 'bit of a tomboy' as a youngster, that ambition stuck, and by the age of 21 she was driving for Dublin Bus.

Now, having reared her family, she has opened her own local minibus service in Kilcullen, where she has lived for the past 19 years after moving from her native Dublin. "We came here because it was a nice place to bring up children, away from the bustle of the city."

A far cry from the double-decker buses and various full-size coaches she piloted during her professional driving career, Lisa's latest machine is a 16-seat Ford Transit minibus, now available to hire for day trips, airport transfers, and school transport.

"I'm literally just on the road," she told the Diary this week, listing all the regulatory and technical matters which she has spent some time completing to set up McCoy's Bus & Cab Hire. She can provide transport for all kinds of occasions, with a 7 December shopping trip to Liffey Valley already on her schedule, and at the time of writing still with spaces available to book. "I'm open to any group in the community who want to set up a trip to somewhere."

The new Facebook page for the service can be accessed here, and Lisa can be contacted by phone at 087 2877174.

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Bus timetable Dunlavin-Kilcullen-Newbridge

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No bus shelters yet for Kilcullen, Kennycourt

There has been no progress on the provision of previously-agreed bus shelters for Kilcullen and Kennycourt, writes Brian Byrne. Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer was given this 'unfavourable' response at yesterday's meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge MD.

The councillor heard that, following funding allocated to Kildare County Council by the NTA for shelters, the Council is considering locations in Athgarvan, Brownstown, Newbridge and Kildare Town, and that other locations will be considered in due course 'funding and resources permitting'. The report from officials said it is not anticipated that any of the shelters will be delivered until 2025.

"Following a discussion at the meeting it was agreed to circulate a list of priority bus shelters to be delivered in our MD," Cllr O'Dwyer said afterwards, "and I will continue to work on this."

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Early 130 bus south in prospect

An early morning route 130 bus service into Athy from Naas may be on the way as the National Transport Authority reviews the timetable, writes Brian Byrne. This follows a meeting between Senator Mark Wall and the NTA as part of a recent Oireachtas briefing.

Currently the earliest service on the route only arrives in Athy at 1pm, passing through Kilcullen at 12:34 and Kilmead at 12:48, having also served Two Mile House and Ballyshannon on the route.

"This has been an ongoing issue for many people living in Kilmead as there was no early morning service into Athy to link into employment, schools, to shop or for appointments or to catch on onward train or bus," Senator Wall says. "This positive step will allow those living in Kilmead, Fonstown, Ballyshannon, Calverstown and into Kilcullen, an option which they have looked for, for a long time."

The Authority's review will assess local connectivity, particularly into Athy in morning peak, and subject to funding and resource availability the new timetable could be implemented early next year.

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