A local councillor is calling on Meath County Council to revisit and widen the options being considered for the Julianstown Traffic Relief Scheme amid what he says is a lack of public confidence in the current proposals.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Stephen McKee has tabled a Notice of Motion for Thursday’s council meeting in Duleek, following a series of public meetings which have attracted hundreds of residents from Julianstown, South Drogheda and East Meath.
Four options are currently being considered as part of the Julianstown Traffic Relief Scheme, but Cllr McKee said there are significant concerns about the proposals and the process used to select them.
His motion calls on Meath County Council to widen the option selection process before any preferred route is chosen, renew public engagement and reassess wider alternatives previously considered.
It also calls for the council to publish the appraisal and evidence used in progressing or eliminating the various options.
“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 four options that have been presented as possible solutions to the current traffic problems through the village,” Cllr McKee said.
“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.”
Cllr McKee said addressing congestion and road safety in Julianstown, particularly for children attending Whitecross National School, was essential, but argued the wider traffic problems affecting South Drogheda and East Meath also needed to be examined.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
According to Cllr McKee, more than 22,000 vehicles travel through Julianstown each day, with significant congestion during peak commuting periods.
He said the extent to which M1 toll avoidance contributes to the volume of traffic should be examined, alongside measures including improved public transport, a potential new train station at Bettystown and the creation of more employment locally.
In the meantime, Cllr McKee is calling for the already-approved Julianstown traffic-calming scheme to proceed immediately.
More than €300,000 has been allocated for the scheme, which he said includes new walking and cycling paths, safer pedestrian crossings and upgrades to bus stops.
“The residents of Julianstown can wait no longer for this work to be carried out,” he said.
Cllr McKee said he will now seek the backing of fellow councillors for his motion at Thursday’s meeting.
“I am seeking support for my motion from other local councillors to ensure that Meath County Council are left in no doubt that the options presented for the Traffic Relief Scheme have neither public nor political support,” he concluded.