'No plans' at present for major changes to 'dangerous' junction in this Kildare village

A meeting of Clane-Maynooth Municipal District held on Friday July 4 heard there are 'no plans' at present to progress major changes at a 'dangerous' junction at Prosperous Village, Kildare.

Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick (FF) put forward a motion calling on the council to “examine the traffic signalling at Prosperous Village in the in the interest of traffic flows on the R403.”

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Fitzpatrick noted the council's response, but wondered if there are any plans to alter the junction “in any shape or form?”

READ NEXT: Kildare people encouraged to apply for free and heavily subsidised higher education courses

As someone who travels the village every morning and “three or four times during the day”, he said, the traffic congestion in Prosperous Village is very bad.

Cllr Fitzpatrick suggested feeder lanes or feeder lights to be implemented in Prosperous Village, and said he wondered if there was any “forward planning” in relation to changes to this junction.

Supporting the motion, Cllr Paula Mulroe (SD) said traffic congestion is a “constant issue” in Prosperous.

She recently reported traffic lights being out of order in the village, she said, adding, “it's an absolute dangerous junction at the moment.”

Cllr Mulroe said she was aware there was school construction waiting to happen in the area, but in the interim “there's a real safety issue at this junction”, and it was only a matter of time before an accident occurred.

Cllr William Durkan (FG) noted the issue had come up a few times over the past year, and it was clearly a dangerous junction in terms of how it is laid out.

While he appreciated a lot of work was tied up in the development of the new school in the area, he wondered if there was anything that could be done in the interim to make it safer.

A council official said that the particular junction in Prosperous is included in the Junction Improvement Project, but it's “tied in with the works on the new school.”

The primary school is on the Safe Routes to School this year, so that An Taisce Green Schools will be doing surveys with the school and looking to see what changes are required for vulnerable road users, he said.

However, he noted, the council prioritises pedestrians and vulnerable road users in any road works, and interventions, therefore, would concentrate on these improvements.

In terms of the way forward, the Safe Routes to School should include junction improvements, and could even happen in advance of the works at the school, the official said.

A report issued by Kildare County Council stated: “This junction was identified as part of the Junction Improvement Project, however there are no plans to progress major changes at this location at present.”