Town centre street junction in Naas closed because of safety concerns

The decision to close a town centre junction in Naas was taken on road safety grounds.

The Abbey Street/Basin Street intersection was closed to vehicles “to reduce the risk of collisions between motorised vehicles and vulnerable road users using Abbey Street and Basin Street, especially at the junction between the two streets,” a Naas Municipal District meeting was told.

The closure eliminates the danger to pedestrians of vehicles turning at the junction, according to engineer Donal Hodgins.

He said the situation before the closure allowing motorised vehicles to turn “blind” from Abbey Street on to Basin Street endangered pedestrians and other vulnerable road users “and the elimination of through traffic has brought immense safety benefits to users of this street.”

He was responding to concerns raised by two councillors Evie Sammon and Seamie Moore.

Cllr Sammon asked that a footpath or a costing for a footpath be ;provided so it can be planned for construction next year.

She also asked KCC to identify a location for the commercial bins in the area and that the Eir property be considered for use as a distribution point for heavy goods vehicles accessing the area.

She complained that these requests were not addressed.

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It was also pointed out by KCC that Abbey Street is included in a master plan for the Naas Canal Quarter area and this plan is “in its public and stakeholder consultation phase,”

KCC says this means it would be “premature to make changes along Abbey Street until a clear agreed vision is developed for the area.”

But Cllr Moore said there is no clear indication about when this masterplan will be completed or acted on.