Council rules out roundabout at this Kildare location

Kildare County Council has ruled out providing a roundabout at Taghadoe Cross, Maynooth, despite representations from a local councillor.

Speaking at a recent Clane Maynooth MD meeting, Cllr Tim Durkan (FG) said he raised this issue a year ago, and the report he received today was “very different” to the report he previously received.

He was “very disappointed” with the council's response, he said.

According to Cllr Durkan, it is now taking drivers in a local estate “10 minutes” to access the main road, due to the lack of a roundabout.

The speed of traffic on that road was also substantial, he said, adding it was a “safety concern” and he was “surprised” there hadn't been an accident on that stretch of road in recent times.

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The volume of traffic, particularly at five or six o'clock in the evening coming from Maynooth heading towards Straffan is “quite significant”, he pointed out.

He would appreciate, he said, if the council could look at some way of alleviating the issue.

He was not suggesting traffic lights, he said, but he would be much in favour of a roundabout, and there was “ample space” there to provide one.

Now with ESB works occurring in the area, this was going to add construction traffic into an already busy area, he said.

Also speaking at the meeting, Cllr Padraig McEvoy (IND) asked if there was an indication as to how much a roundabout would cost to implement in this area.

He pointed to the increasing population in the general area, and the increased movement of people on local roads.

With the growth of dependency on private cars, he said, a lot of roads and junctions were set to come under increasing stress from traffic, and asked if the council had a strategy to mitigate against the use of private cars.

He would be “curious”, he said, to see what the price of a roundabout is for this location.

A council official stated that a roundabout at this location would “probably” cost in the region of €5m.

“That's not something which we can, I suppose, progress”, he said.

“I'm somewhat shocked by that figure”, responded Cllr Durkan, who pointed out that the last costing for a roundabout – albeit 15 years ago – was in the region of €1m.

“I know inflation has taken legs”, he said, “but we're not looking for a motorway sized roundabout here. Is €5m an accurate figure?”

The council official confirmed that €5m, while an “indicative figure”, is accurate.

A report issued by the council stated: “There are no current plans for the provision of a roundabout at Taghadoe Cross at the present time nor is any such project included in the current Capital Programme.”