(This article first appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Maynooth Newsletter)

Councillors Approve New Cycle Corridor in Naas

Maynooth Cycling Campaign congratulates the councillors of the Naas Municipal District on cross-party approval of the Dublin Road Cycle Corridor Scheme which involves removing right hand turns and a number of car parking spaces in the town centre. The approval includes significant improvements proposed by our colleagues in the Naas Neighbourhood Greenways. This is the first time that Kildare County Council has accepted any improvement suggested by a cycling group, and despite the availability of significantly less space, Naas councillors have approved a scheme which will provide a higher quality cycling facility than the Maynooth North South Corridor Scheme. Perhaps the Maynooth councillors might look at and learn from their Naas colleagues.

Kildare Cycle Forum

In a related development, Maynooth Cycling Campaign has joined with Naas Neighbourhood Greenways in calling on the political groups in Kildare County Council to convene a meeting of the Kildare Cycle Forum.  Government policy on cycling is to adopt a collaborative approach giving cycling representatives input into the development and implementation of cycling policy. Maynooth Cycling Campaign accepted an invitation to join the Forum and is looking forward to playing a full part in its work.

Galway Cycle 2016

Congratulations also to the Galway Cycle 2016 for raising over €100,000 for their nominated charity which this year is Down Syndrome Ireland.

Bikeweek 2016

This spring has largely been windy and cold. May is now upon us so we are hoping for more spring like weather. We have also begun to plan for Bikeweek 2016 which runs from 11^th to 19^th June. Next month’s Newsletter will have full detail of events.

Celbridge Road

Maynooth Cycling Campaign is opposed to the proposed NTA expenditure of €100,000 on a missing section of footpath on Celbridge Road, as it will copperfasten a situation where over 1000 children have no facilities to cycle to school. We call on councillors to ensure that this work does not proceed without a clear plan on how cyclists will be catered for and the timescale involved. Otherwise money will be wasted on a short term measure which will have to be undone in the future.

Railpark

Like a number of locations in Maynooth, Railpark suffers from rat-running with drivers using Railpark to avoid delays at the Celbridge Road junction. If the problem was one of speeding, the solution would be traffic calming. However, it is a traffic management problem and the solution is filtered permeability with no through route for motor vehicles.  This would involve motorists having to enter either from the Straffan Road or the Celbridge Road side, but pedestrians and cyclists would continue to use it as at present. It is also a road safety issue as allowing traffic to rat-run in a residential area is contrary to good road safety practice and needlessly increases the risk to adults and children who live there.

Maynooth Cycling is a non-party political cycling advocacy group. Its aims are to promote cycling as a healthy leisure pursuit and as a safe, enjoyable and efficient mode of transport for everyone in the Maynooth area.