Naas residents opposing Relief Road route gather at Osprey Hotel tonight

Naas residents who are in the Combined Estates Group opposed to the Inner Relief Road are meeting tonight at the Osprey Hotel.

Route 2, , runs close to hundreds of homes as it cuts from the Dublin Road to the Blessington Road along the edge of the grounds of Naas Racecourse.

Population areas to be affected by the Route include: Mountain View, Sunday's Well, The Paddocks, Elmwood, Woodlands, Kingsfurze, Kings Court, The Gallops and Racecourse Gate, as well as areas of Monread and Tipper Road.

The Combined Estates Group are holding a public meeting  7.30 pm. All Naas Municipal District councillors and Kildare North TDs have been invited.

Last year, hundreds of people attended a similar meeting. The residents are astounded that Kildare Council has decided to seek Planning Permission for Route 2.

A statement from residents said: "It beggars belief that this is the best Kildare County Council could come up with for the severely congested traffic problem in Naas. It shows total disregard to thousands of the town’s residents. Why is Kildare County Council not fighting for funding for a proper ring road? Is it even in the plans? Why are we meant to be so grateful for the €6 million funding that is being provided by the LIHAF, when it is totally inadequate. We need a proper ring road system to cope, if hundreds of houses are to be built. Why are Kildare County Council getting funding for a road twenty seven years later, which is now totally outdated and unfit for purpose. What have they been doing while our town was greatly expanding? Naas will continue to have a major and severe traffic problem for years to come, unless proper infrastructure is put in place."

The residents statement added: "This route will travel right beside hundreds of residential homes. It is outrageous that Kildare County Council think that re-routing traffic and heavy vehicles from the town centre and placing them on top of established residential estates is the way to enhance Naas. The noise, dust, pollution, vibration and speeding that this road will cause, if it proceeds, will be devastating to the residents’ quality of life. The facts are that in the KCC Route Selection Report, route two was a less preferred option on these important environmental grounds.

Furthermore, it is quite incredible that Kildare County Council believes that it can just take our common areas and surround our houses with up to 12ft walls."

The statement said: "Not only will the approximately 12ft walls make us feel like prisoners in our own estates, but the backlog of traffic to exit each estate every morning, as we leave our estates, will in effect make us actual prisoners. Affected estates will have to exit onto what will be an extremely busy road, in the form of route 2. In addition, the estate entrances of  Kings Court, The Gallops, and Racecourse Gate, are closely situated with no provision for traffic lights or roundabouts. How will we get out of our estates in the morning? Creating very large junctions at residential estates is not appropriate and will lead to accidents.

The idea that this route will somehow relieve traffic defies all common sense and logic. The 4 way junction at the Gallops / Monread is already exceptionally busy, as is the junction at the Blessington Road and Ballycane Road. By creating a major road via the racecourse, these junctions will simply not be able to cope.

We urge all of those in the affected areas, including those in Monread, and those who will be affected by a completed "ring road" (for want of a better word) of the Town, to attend the meeting on Monday 25th of March at 7.30pm, so that your voice can be heard."