Local South Drogheda & East Meath Fianna Fáil Councillor, Stephen McKee, is calling on Meath County Council to begin afresh a new public consultation on solutions to the traffic congestion through Julianstown.
McKee stated: ‘It is clear that a significant number of residents of Julianstown and surrounding areas have no confidence in the current process and are not convinced on any of the 4 Options that have been presented as possible solutions to the current traffic problems through the village. I have attended local Public Meetings in the City North Hotel in recent weeks and have heard first-hand the concerns of residents and I have communicated those concerns to Meath County Council.’
‘While we absolutely need to address traffic congestion and improve road safety through Julianstown, particularly for school children attending Whitecross NS, we need to look at the wider problem of heavy traffic coming from the South Drogheda and East Meath area and how best to get that traffic onto the M1 Motorway. I have asked Meath County Council to look again at the Bryanstown Link-Road which is in the County Development Plan for the Area and also at the possibility of a link road onto the M1 close to Kilsharvan.’
‘There are more than 22,000 vehicles per day travelling through Julianstown and there is significant traffic congestion through the village at peak commuter times as local residents know only too well. We need to fully understand why this is the case; how much of an issue Toll avoidance is and whether improving public transport infrastructure in East Meath such as a new Train Station at Bettystown and a focus on the creation of more local employment can form part of an overall suite of measures to reduce heavy traffic in the area.’
‘Too many houses have been built in East Meath over the years with too little infrastructure to match that development. We now see this being fully played out, whether it be the need for more schools, recreational amenities, improved water services and public transport services. The traffic congestion through Julianstown is as a result of an infrastructure deficit that should have been foreseen and planned for long ago. This has been a failure of successive Governments unfortunately to address and we are now trying to play catch-up’ continued McKee. Residents are being encouraged to make their views known on the Scheme by making a submission to Meath County Council on or before the end of August.
Full information can be found on the website www.julianstowntrafficrelief.ie
