Claim that one Municipal District in Kildare is being ‘left behind’

A councillor the Athy Municipal District (MD) claimed that the MD is being "left behind" when it comes to one roads-related issue.

Labour Party Cllr Aoife Breslin made the comments at the latest MD meeting, which was held on Monday, September 15 last.

At this meeting, Cllr Breslin motioned for Kildare County Council (KCC) to install "a set of traffic lights at the junction of Barrow Quay and the N78 to help alleviate issues with traffic from Barrow Quay trying to access the N78".

Cllr Breslin’s motion was seconded by the Mayor of the MD, Fine Gael Cllr Ivan Keatley.

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Elaborating on her point, Cllr Breslin said that both her and Mayor Keatley had raised the issue in the past.

She explained: "[At the time,] we pointed out that the lack of traffic lights would cause havoc, and we have been proven right."

Cllr Breslin further said: "My opinion is that we [referring to the Athy MD] are being left behind on this.

"A lot of the issues come down to driver mentality too, but we need traffic lights to be installed in this region before there is an accident."

Cllr Breslin also told those in attendance: "Sometimes, the local reps know something more than the engineers."

COUNCIL’S REPLY

Responding to Cllr Breslin’s motion, KCC said via the report it presented at the meeting: "There is no funding at present to install traffic lights at this location."

KCC also told Cllr Breslin: "This request will be examined as part of the wider Athy Improvement Project that will seek to improve accessibility for walking and cycling in the town and introduce a Heavy Goods Vehicle restriction to the town centre."

In addition, Mayor Keatley suggested that KCC could write to the National Transport Authority in relation to this issue.

A representative for KCC replied that the council would be open to this suggestion.

In turn, Cllr Breslin thanked the representative for their support.

Labour Party Cllr Aoife Breslin. Photograph credit: Kildarecoco.ie

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