Residents along Nuncio Road seek plans to improve pedestrian and cycle safety

A meeting convened by Green Party Cllr Maria Dollard and Minister Malcolm Noonan to address traffic and parking issues along Nuncio Road in Kilkenny heard that excessive speeding and additional traffic volumes were having a detrimental impact on residential amenity and putting the lives of people at risk.

Residents from adjoining estates to the road met with City Council engineers, Cllr Dollard, and Minister Noonan on Friday last to discuss ways forward to address the problems. Cllr Dollard was also presented with a petition from residents calling for action. 

City Engineer, Ian Gardner, outlined to the residents that Kilkenny County Council was embarking on an ambitious programme of making Kilkenny pedestrian and cycle-friendly and would include a dedicated scheme to address the issues along Nuncio Road – street lighting and indiscriminate parking in adjoining estates. 

Cllr Dollard welcomed this commitment saying that the route was an increasingly busy through-road and that 30kph speed limits were required throughout the city centre. ‘It makes no sense to have 30kph speed limits in all of our housing estates, on one section of the route into Patrick St, and then allow 50kph to persist as a limit on Nuncio Road. It is sending out mixed messages to motorists and adding to danger posed to vulnerable road users, pedestrians, and cyclists’, said Cllr Dollard. 

Minister Malcolm Noonan said that as a cyclist he was noticing increased traffic volumes as well as increased numbers of cyclists, particularly to Gaelscoil Osraí who had introduced the most successful cycle-to-school scheme in the city. ‘This ambition should be rewarded, not hindered. The school has had to bring in additional cycle parking while other schools are removing bike sheds. We should reward such endeavour’.

Residents want the all-day parking along Nuncio Road towards the Castle road addressed as part of any scheme. They feel that having free all-day parking so close to the city is not sustainable and is being worsened during weekends and at times of festivals when the parking spills into adjoining estates, sometimes blocking residents access and where residents often face strong language from people parking cars. 

‘We were all encouraged by the positive engagement from Council engineers and that proposals are in place to address concerns of residents, plans for additional lighting, and, overall, making the city a really ambitious place for cycling, walking, and public transport. Residents have agreed to engage positively with Kilkenny County Council when the plan goes to public consultation and we want to thank them for gathering the petition which will strengthen their case to make the road safer, quieter, and less polluted’, said Cllr Dollard.