And another! Well done Aine Gannon! Dear Councillor, I wish to add my voice to the objection to the development of the Central Access Scheme. As a resident in the Kennyswell Road area, and as a frequent user of theBreagagh Bridge on that road, I see firsthand what heavy traffic is doing to the area. I understand the need to have a long term traffic management plan for the city and its environs but I fear the plan in the current form is short sighted and unsustainable, not to mention damaging to the fabric of the city centre. My issues are: The current levels of traffic, including huge levels of HGV’s are unsustainable on the Circular Road /Kennyswell Road route. Even with the limited scope for upgrading, it won’t be enough to create an easy access route for traffic while ensuring a safe, healthy and peaceful environment for residents. The footpath on the Circular Road is damaged in many areas due to HGV’s having to mount the path when 2 vehicles pass each other. This is incredibly unsafe for pedestrians using that road. The junction at the Breagagh Bridgeis almost blind for those coming from the Circular Road. I work in Kilcreene and on more occasions than I wish to recall trucks have pulled out in front of cars coming in both directions resulting in near misses. The state of the Breagagh Bridge is of enormous concern to me. I use the bridge to commute to work daily, and it is literally crumbling in front of my eyes. Even the piecemeal remedial works carried out in recent months are not enough to stop the damage being done due to the HGV’s using the route at a high level of frequency. Even with traffic lights on the bridge there have been incidents that lead to chaos. One incident I witnessed on my commute to work on Thursday May 30th. A bus coming into town got stuck on the bridge as there was a truck waiting on the other side at the traffic lights. The width of the road meant there was not enough room for both vehicles to pass. This lead to the traffic building up on both sides, while the vehicles attempted to manoeuvre passed each other. This took many minutes to resolve and in the meantime, the traffic lights on the bridge changed. The traffic built up behind the bus on the bridge and traffic coming from town had a green light and both lots of traffic then met in the middle, causing another near miss. These types of incidents, while certainly not an every day occurrence, are increasing in frequency. This bridge was not meant to carry the levels of traffic that are currently on it, let alone an increase after the CAS has been built. Those living on Rothe Terrace /Kennyswell Road / Emmett Street / St. Teresa’s Terrace have to endure huge volumes of traffic during peak hours daily. I would guesstimate that 1 HGV per minute uses that road during the peak hours of 9 – 6. In addition to the Breagagh Bridgecrumbling, the road at Rothe Terrace is also falling apart. Very large potholes are increasing with every rainfall that occurs. The road has been patched up twice since Christmas, but the filling is washed away once the rain starts again. This is compounded by HGV’s using this route. Not only is this damaging to vehicles using the route, but it displays how unsustainable it is to continue to send large volumes of traffic down this narrow road. The residents of Rothe Terrace must endure, in addition to their road disintegrating, HGV’s travelling within metres of their front doors, in what is an urban residential area. The noise and air pollution caused by the current level of traffic is not befitting an environment for residential living. Further down the road in the Kennyswell area, where the road is very narrow and the terraced houses are less than a metre from the road, this problem is even worse. The residents park their cars outside their houses (as they have every right to do), trucks cannot pass without causing an obstruction to traffic. Similar to the incident I mentioned on Breagagh Bridge, I have witnessed on many occasions, whereby trucks attempt to pass each other at the lower Kennyswell Roadresulting in near misses involving the HGV’s and parked cars and inevitable traffic chaos. HGV’s mount the footpath opposite the houses on a regular basis, which again is extremely dangerous for pedestrians. The plans to upgrade this road are completely insufficient for any future increased levels of traffic, let alone current levels. Not to mention this is the periphery of the historic heart of the city, at Kennys Well itself. Further down the CAS route at Irishtown, the historic composition of Kilkenny is more evident. The church, the cathedral and the St. Canice’s Steps are all much valuable and much visited artefacts of our towns’ history. Increasing traffic down this road will divide the town in two. HGV traffic and through-traffic should be directed away from the city centre, not through the heart of it. This would clear the town of congestion and busy traffic, leading to easier access to those who wish to visit the city centre and particularly to those walking around the city centre. Irishtown is not only a historic area of the centre; it is also a residential and business district. The development that was undertaken at the upper end of Dean Street is already out of character for the area, so careful consideration must be undertaken to ensure that any development within the area is keeps with the historic foundations of the street and does not do any further permanent damage, visually or historically. On Morning Ireland on Friday 7thJune, County Manager Joe Crockett claims that the CAS is about bringing traffic to the centre of the city. Does Mr. Crockett realise that much of this traffic is through traffic, and not those looking to stop by the town. Bypassing traffic around a town will not decrease traffic into the town. Completing the ring road will allow for a sustainable upgrade of current access routes into the town. I do not believe that the current route of taking HGV’s down the Circular Road /Kennyswell Road is in any way ideal for the transport companies that are using and being asked to continue to use this route. A completed ring road would allow businesses to transport goods with greater efficiency while improving the lives of the residents in the areas effected. The increased traffic Mr. Crockett wishes to bring to the city centre will not rescue the retail sector which is struggling on High Street and the Shopping Centres. The lifeblood of Kilkenny’s economy is based on the tourism industry and related services. Our heritage is our city’s unique selling point. We make great efforts to sell our city as the paramount example of mediaevalIreland. In its efforts to rush through a cheaper option to improve traffic flow in Kilkenny, it will destroy the visual heritage of the city, not to mention demolish 3 properties which are included on the National Inventory of Archaeological Heritage. On MorningIreland, Mr. Crockett dismissed the significance of the inclusion of the terrace on the Inventory on the basis that the properties have been vacant for some time and have fallen into disrepair, but I do not feel that warrants signing a death sentence for the buildings. An archaeological report undertaken by Cóilín O’Drisceoil has stated that there is a strong likelihood that archaeology relating to the original buildings in the old Irishtown area survives below ground level. This area of city has many valuable monuments of historical significance notwithstanding the obvious Cathedral and Tower. The original Environmental Impact Assessment of the properties did not include any reference to the site of the mediaeval house below ground level, nor did it conclude the age of the building. I don’t think anyone would argue against the requirement for another bridge crossing the Nore, but this bridge is the wrong design and in the wrong place. This bridge is completely out of character for the area and will ruin the view upriver from John’s Bridge and the ever popular photograph point at the Rose Garden at the Castle. The urban heritage of the town will forever be blighted with an inappropriately located eyesore of a bridge. I hope that as a citizen of Kilkenny, where I was born, educated, live and work and as a voter, that my views are taken on board and as valued as those of the decision makers in Kilkenny County Council. While the completion of the ring road is a very expensive option (and we don’t have a good track record of completing roads i.e. the time taken to complete 2nd segment of the ring road), it would be careless to place short term cost restraints over long term gain. My educational background was in urban planning, and although the planned completed looped ring road would go through rural area, it would provide scope for appropriate sustainable planning for future development in the North West sector of the town. I hope that you will take on board my points and those of others who have made representations to you and of the 3,500 people who feel strongly about this scheme. Yours Sincerely, Áine Gannon, Kilkenny
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:55:03 +0000
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