Yellow box junction for this Kildare town 'not in line with road marking guidelines' - council

A Fianna Fáíl councillor has been told by the council that a yellow box junction is not suitable for a location in Prosperous, Kildare as it is “not in line with the road marking guidelines for Kildare County Council.”

Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick (FF) motioned at October's Clane Maynooth Municipal District meeting “that the council installs a yellow box at the coffee shop in Prosperous.”

Cllr Fitzpatrick told the members there was “a sense of frustration” amongst local business owners at the level of traffic congestion in the area.

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He explained there is a popular coffee shop at the location, and in the morning, coming from Allenwood towards Prosperous, it offers a drive-through service.

There is only room for two cars at the coffee shop, he explained, with the result that traffic is backed up onto the main road, causing a traffic “black spot.”

Cllr Fitzpatrick said he believed that a yellow box at the location would alleviate the problem by allowing traffic out, and traffic coming from Clane to turn right.

He noted from the council's report that the works would not qualify under the roads marking guidelines, but said he had a similar motion before about traffic congestion in Clane, and a yellow box had alleviated the congestion at that point.

Cllr Fitzpatrick said that he had never personally read the council's roads marking guidelines, but that “common sense” should dictate that a yellow box is implemented at this location.

Speaking in support of the motion, Cllr Paula Mulroe (SD) said the location in question “certainly” contributes to the overall problem of traffic congestion in Prosperous.

She said there is a further issue of visibility for pedestrians in the area which needed to be addressed, which she said may be a separate issue.

Cllr Brendan Wyse (FG) said that perhaps the road marking guidelines should be “looked at”, as Prosperous was an exception because the junction, the car park and school were "all built around a crossroads."

Speaking at the meeting, a council official stated he was “happy” to meet Cllr Fitzpatrick at the location to determine what could be done to address the problem.

From the council's point of view, he explained, it was about keeping “reasonable flow” of traffic through the town centre, so that, “we can't just keep putting yellow boxes in everywhere.”

However, he said, he was happy to meet with Cllr Fitzpatrick “and see if you can change my opinion.”