UPDATED: ‘Nobody uses the cycle lanes in Newbridge’, Kildare County Council is told
The comments were heard at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting
The cycle lanes situated on the Main Street in Newbridge were criticised by a local representative at a recent Kildare County Council (KCC) meeting.
Fine Gael councillor Peggy O'Dwyer made the comments at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, which was held on Wednesday, September 17 last.
Cllr O'Dwyer's criticism was made in response to a presentation which was delivered to the councillors who attended the meeting — the presentation, which was delivered by a Senior Engineer with KCC, Donal Hodgins, examined Sustainable Transport in the context of County Kildare.
A copy of the presentation was later sent out to the local reps. A similar presentation was also delivered to councillors representing the Athy Municipal District on Monday September 15 last.
As noted by Mr Hodgins, the presentation consisted of three key areas: it examined why KCC has a Sustainable Transport section; what the section is made up of; and what type of activities the team works on.
When the floor was opened to questions and feedback on Sustainable Transport measures in the MD, this prompted Cllr O'Dwyer to tell Mr Hodgins: "Nobody uses the cycle lanes in Newbridge."
She also pointed out that when they were originally installed back in Winter of 2021, the lanes were meant to be a "temporary measure", but they still remain in place in Newbridge.
Fine Gael Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer. File photograph
UPDATE — Tuesday, September 23, 2025 — 7.28pm approx: KCC responded to the Leader's message with the following statement:
"The cycle tracks along Main Street Newbridge are a temporary measure pending the design and implementation of a cycle track network throughout the town, which is dependant on funding from the National Transport Authority (NTA)."
KCC added that it "is not in a position to comment on the personal views of individual councillors".