Cycle lanes won't be removed from County Kildare town centre
No precedent to do this - KCC
The cycle lanes built on the main thoroughfare in Newbridge are here to stay.
This is despite a call by independent councillor Tom McDonnell for the lanes to be removed from the main street has been rejected.
Cllr McDonnell made the call at a Kildare Newrbidge Municipal District meeting.
He said there is a genuine danger caused by the fact that the lanes have narrowed the width of the street.
“You need to be very careful getting out of your car in case the door is struck or you incur an arm or hand injury,” he said.
Cllr McDonnell said that the lanes are hardly used by cyclists and many people living in the town are opposed to them.
He said some cyclists use the footpaths instead.
He claimed that a woman driving from the car park near the GAA ground on to the main street was involved in an accident with another vehicle because a parked vehicle further restricted her view.
But Kildare County Council engineer Donal Hodgins said that the council does not intend to remove the cycle track.
“There is no precedent for the removal of a cycle track in County Kildare,” said Mr Hodgins, adding that there is no policy in place that would facilitate the request.
He also said that the scheme was “designed and constructed to the relevant national design standards and documents (related to this) are publicly available.”
He also said KCC made amendments to the layout over a number of months taking into account legitimate concerns by the public and politicians.
It was also subjected to a road safety audit and there was a public consultation process m, which must be done under law.
He noted this is a temporary scheme but the National Transport Authority has funded the design of a permanent scheme along Main Street “and this process is currently at the preliminary design stage.”
He added that to remove the facility would not be in line with established national and local policy including the county development plan.
“Furthermore, the removal would remove the level of safety for cyclists afforded by segregation and the consequences of this deterioration in safety to the public would be borne by those making that decision.”
He also said that if the lanes were taken away the NTA might want the cost of it refunded.