Major Safety issues near Applegreen Dunshaughlin are raised again

Report Paul Murphy
Safety issues for pedestrians near the new Applegreen Service Station in Dunshaughlin have reared their heads again and a senior Meath County Council engineer gave a briefing on the problem to councillors of Ratoath Municipal District at their October meeting. Nicholas Wyatt spoke to members at their meeting earlier this week. Cathaoirleach Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said that something would have to be done before there was a serious accident at that location. He said that it was a pity that certain issues had not been taken into consideration when Applegreen planning permission was being given. Other developments were to take place along that route, he said. Some alleviation would have to take place there.

Cllr Gerry O’Connor said that the planning permission that had been submitted had a different entrance on it. The entrance was meant to be on the relief road, he said. “What we have now is an entrance halfway between two roundabouts and vehicle coming out being forced to turn left. They couldn’t have to do that if the entrance had been put where it was initially meant to be. There is a huge issue with speed. I see the kids going into school in the morning and they’ve got their black hoodies on and their earphones on. They are walking along their like zombies and it’s not suitable, it’s not safe. I had asked if bollards could be put in on one side of the hard shoulder and I was told no”.
Sinn Fein Cllr Fionnan Blake said the situation there was “unbelievable”. A footpath would have to be provided, he said.

Independent Cllr Yvonne Everard said that the installation of a footpath should have been included in the planning permission for Applegreen. The installation of a footpath should be done as a matter of urgency. She said that looking over the planning permission she saw that the zoning for Applegreen had been opposed by the chief executive of the county council, the Office of the Planning Regulator and Transport Infrastructure Ireland and it was the councillors who voted to have this area zoned. “No offence, and I’m not getting at anybody but I think the councillors and the MD at the time should have pay more attention to it and should have realised it was only 600 metres from theR125 roundabout. A footpath was needed here – it should have been put in as one of the conditions. These things must be attended to and more consistency is needed in planning”

Cllr O’Connor also said the councillors were merely zoning the land in 2016 – they had no input into the planning, he said. “I don’t regret what we did. We made 124 jobs. It (Applegreen), is an asset to the town and we are now dealing with an issue”.

 Cllr Killian said that Applegreen was an attraction to people not only to those in Dunshaughlin but also to people in Ratoath who were driving to the location. They were not just driving to get petrol but to visit Taco Bell. He said if there was a fatality at that location the responsibility would not fall back on the councillors but on the council planning section.

Cllr Fitzgerald said they should start breaking down the solutions and put in a pedestrian crossing as a first step – people could then at least walk on one side of the hard shoulder. He said the speed there should not be 80kph but 60pkh “at the max”. The Cathaoirleach said they would have to have a clear position to send back to county hall – that was that the councillor wanted a footpath on the Dunshaughlin side of the road. A pedestrian crossing should also be installed along with a 60kph limit.

Cllr O’Connor said the safest solution should be the pedestrian crossing and then to allow people to walk down on the Applegreen side. A speed survey was also needed, he said.

Cllr Fitzgerald asked Mr Wyatt to take the issue back to county hall and present a solution to the next meeting of Ratoath MD in November. “There is a problem and we want a solution to that problem”, the Cathaoirleach said.

Taco Bell restaurant opened on 17th September at the Applegreen location providing the new motorway service station off Junction 6 on the M3 in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath. It has drawn a lot of pedestrian traffic particularly from students in the area to the well known Mexican food chain.