Report Paul Murphy
Traffic problems around the Kells Road in Navan leading to the junction of the new local distributor road 4 connecting the Ratholdron Road to the Kells Road have been identified but while the problem is being looked at there is “no quick fix”, a council official told a meeting of Navan Municipal District today. Martin Murray was replying to issues about the traffic movements there raised by councillors at the meeting.
Fine Gael Cllr John Duffy said he knew there had been a lot of work going on in Navan over the last while and that the LDR4 project was new but they were coming close to Christmas and people expected some easing of the traffic situation. A relative of his had reported that she was not able to get into Blackwater Retail Park last Sunday because of traffic problems. She had waited 30 minutes but thern had to drive on. He wondered whether the council was getting people’s points about the situation. Several councillors said they had received representations on the issue from a number of local people. Aontu Cllr Emer Toibin suggested that the pedestrian crossing should have been placed “a good 80
metres from the roundabout”.
Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy said there were 27,500 vehicle movements through that area every day since the new junction opened. The vehicles were moving feely when the roundabout was in place. There had been tailbacks from the junction halfway up the Athboy Road.
The Mayor Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said he had gone to the area to watch traffic movements and 70pc of the traffic from the Kells Road turns right and heads up towards the M3 and Trim Road retail park. If it was possible to rearrange the situation to allow traffic to come out of that park and move freely into Navan and out the Dublin Road direction. None of this could be done before Christmas – they would have to deal with what they had and how it could be managed. He was also sure that Bus Eireann’s schedules were being affected by the traffic problems. It was appreciated there would be teething problems, he said.
Independent Cllr Francis Deane said there had been great relief for traffic coming in from the Slane Road where previously there had been “chaos”.
Independent Cllr Alan Lawes said every councillor had received representations on the traffic issues, saying they were not happy with the situation. He was not sure what could be done in the very short time before Christmas. He was hoping the manager could “come up with a magic wand” to deal with the position. Fine Gael Cllr Yemi Adenuga said they didn’t want any more pressure on businesses than they had
already.
MD Manager Martin Murray, pictured above at the recent opening of the LDR4, said the officials were very conscious of the situation and constant monitoring was going on. There had been significant changes in the pattern of vehicle movements in Navan . The entrances from the North side now had huge capacity. There had been 28,000 movements through the new junction on Kells Road. Before the opening there had never been that level of movements. “We’ve had a shift – people who would have exited the Kilcarn roundabout and would have gone through the town in respect of other routes going North, maybe they’re avoiding the work going on currently on the ring road”. They needed to manage the distribution of that back into Kilcarn South. There is a particular problem on the Kells Road and we are currently examining
