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Cllr James Lawless – Clarification needed on Kill T-Junction

James Lawless has raised the issue of the operation of the new T-Junction in Kill at a Council meeting.

“At a recent meeting of Naas Municipal District, I asked Kildare County Council for clarification on the operation of the new T-junction in Kill village. The T-junction was installed during the past year to replace the roundabout that served the Hartwell Road. Local residents have complained that the T-junction was creating traffic problems. Since the roundabout in the middle of Kill village was replaced by a T-junction, road users coming from the Hartwell Road are facing long tailbacks to get on to the Main Street. Many residents have raised this with me.”

“I’ve sought clarification from the council on the operation of the new junction layout. I want to see the council address the tailback issue since there weren’t any traffic problems when the roundabout existed. I understand the new design was mandated by the NTA and again it appears the motorist has been left the worse off for it.”

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Cllr James Lawless criticises significant delays caused by roadworks

Cllr James Lawless has called for prompt conclusion of the roadworks currently causing delays around the town.

“As we are all too well aware, roadwork delays in the Naas area are adding to traffic woes. This has become particularly acute as the busy season commences and adverse weather makes driving conditions more difficult for motorists. There are three major roadworks projects underway: the Sallins Rd. roundabout widening, Main St. bus stop upgrades, and Kilcullen Rd. roadworks. All of these together are contributing adversely to the movement of traffic around Naas town and Sallins village. While it is welcome to see these projects being carried out, I would have hoped that they would have been carried out in a timely and efficient manner. Instead, we’ve had to put up with the opposite.”

“Therefore I’ve stressed  with stakeholders involved the URGENT need for prompt completion of the roadworks to relieve this traffic chaos, especially now in the run up to Christmas. The Sallins Rd. roundabout and Kilcullen Rd. upgrade in particular are simply taking far too long to complete. It is unacceptable. One would have thought that in this day we could deliver projects like these quickly and efficiently, but it’s worse they’re getting.” Continue reading “Cllr James Lawless criticises significant delays caused by roadworks”

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Lawless Motion on Naas Town parking passed by Council

A full review of Naas town parking by-laws proposed by Cllr James Lawless was agreed at a recent meeting of the Naas Municipal District.

James said,”A motion I put forward was passed by the council seeking to immediately commence a review of the pay parking laws around the town. After 18 months of effort to improve the parking situation in Naas a root and branch review of the entire situation is now needed to bring things forward. Over the last 18 months I’ve made many attempts to bring about improvements to the parking situation in the town. It is becoming very frustrating and progress is slow. Therefore I believe at this stage the only way forward is to bring all parties together to hammer out a parking deal for the town. Businesses, residents and shoppers alike need progress on this critical issue.” Continue reading “Lawless Motion on Naas Town parking passed by Council”

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Lawless reiterates calls for necessary investment in Transport infrastructure

In the wake of the Traffic Chaos last Wednesday, Cllr James Lawless has repeated his call for the Government to upgrade Transport infrastructure

James said,”The long delay faced by countless commuters across Kildare last Wednesday following the closure of the M50 clearly demonstrates that we have a growing problem with traffic in the Greater Dublin Area. I have been consistently raising transport issues for commuters over the last 10 years. The failure to invest in public transport will only compound the long delays that commuters are now experiencing on a daily basis. This is having an impact on people’s quality of life, and is also putting potential investors off doing business in the Dublin area. Unfortunately gridlock is going to become a persistent problem for Kildare commuters. The M50 is already over capacity despite the fact that it acts as the main route to north and south Dublin alongside the city centre itself. Any accident along the route has the potential to shut down all roads across the Greater Dublin Area.”

“Commuters are growing increasingly frustrated with the excessive delays they are expected to endure just to get to work. I have been contacted by people who had to endure a five hour commute last Wednesday as the traffic came to a standstill as far back as Naas. On the previous day many people were caught up in significant delays on the N7 due to an accident. Such delays are becoming increasingly common.”

“I reiterate my call on the Government to invest in our transport infrastructure to alleviate the congestion on the M50. The Government should be investing in projects such as DART Underground to take the pressure off the M50 and make it easier for Kildare commuters to get to work. Serious consideration must also be given to the idea of creating an ‘outer M50’ orbital route to help relieve pressure on the current road. I called for this at a Fianna Fáil Transport Conference only in February of this year.”

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Nothing in Budget for Renters – Frank O’Rourke

Fianna Fáil General Election Candidate for Kildare North Cllr Frank O’Rourke says he is disappointed that the Government has not introduced new measures in the budget to tackle the soaring cost of rent.

Cllr O’Rourke pointed out that the Government has done nothing to achieve rent certainty, despite Minister Alan Kelly committing just days ago to introduce new measures to that effect.

“It’s disappointing to see that the Government still isn’t taking the housing and rental crisis seriously. The latest figures show that rents have increased by 9% around the country and over 13% in Kildare since January alone. People in rented accommodation are struggling to meet persistently rising rents. Rents in Kildare could rise significantly over the next year due to the Fine Gael and Labours failure to introduce rent certainty measures,” said Cllr O’Rourke. Continue reading “Nothing in Budget for Renters – Frank O’Rourke”