Locals ‘leaving from noisy area’ due to stress, Kildare councillor claims
A Kildare councillor has said that a number of residents living near an area located beside the M4 Motorway in the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District (MD) are moving out of their their homes because of the stress of living right beside it.
Fine Gael councillor Tim Durkan called on Kildare County Council (KCC) to provide an update on the M4 Motorway upgrade to include information regarding resurfacing, junction improvements and the provision of an additional lane at the latest Clane-Maynooth MD meeting held on Friday, June 3.
Cllr Tim Durkan, Fine Gael
In response, KCC said to Cllr Durkan in its report at the meeting: "The Maynooth to Leixlip Project is in options selection phase.
"The options selection phase consists of a two- stage appraisal process: Stage 1 consists of the development and appraisal of a long-list of options to reduce to a short-list of options, while Stage 2, the appraisal of the shortlist of options from Stage 1, to identify the emerging preferred option(s)."
KCC added that the public consultation is being planned for this summer 2022, and that it will be advertised in advance.
SUPPORT
After hearing KCC’s report, Cllr Durkan replied: "I note the report, but this is something that has been going on for quite some time.
Cllr Durkan concluded by saying that he wanted the relevant national authorities alerted to the issue 'as soon as possible.'
His sentiments were echoed by Labour Party Cllr Angela Feeney, who said that she personally knew of people who have moved away from the area due to the noise.
Kildare Mayor Naoise Ó Cearúil also said that he knew of potential buyers who were thinking of moving into the area, but not until the necessary remedial works were completed.
He also asked KCC for a rough timeframe of when the upgrade works would be delivered.
In response, a representative for KCC stressed to the Mayor that the public consultation must first take place before any remedial action could take place.