Motion – Councillor William Durkan
That the council conducts a traffic survey in Johnstown Bridge to identify means of improving traffic management, in the context of new housing developments in the town.
Report: A traffic study can be completed as requested.
Question – Councillor William Durkan
Can the council confirm any plans to expand the winter salting routes in the Broadford Village area?
Report: The objective of the Kildare County Council’s Winter Maintenance Plan is to keep all principal roads in the county open to traffic, free from ice and safe to travel on. Kildare County Council treat our National Secondary, Regional and Local Roads. National Primary and Motorway routes are dealt with by contractors on behalf Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
The Kildare County Council Winter Maintenance Plan and map of routes are prepared annually and updated on our website.
Kildare County Council currently operate 10 routes within its Winter Maintenance Programme, treating approximately 705km of the Local, Regional and National Secondary Road Network in the county.
This equates to the treatment of approximately 26.5 % of Kildare’s road infrastructure. Including all Motorway and National Primary roads treated by TII,
30.3% of all Public Roads within County Kildare are treated. This is higher than neighbouring counties, who treat between 24-26 % of their road network.
This requires a significant input of resources, including 24 drivers, vehicles, equipment, technical and administrative staff and operates at a considerable cost.
Kildare County Council’s salting trucks on all routes are running at capacity at present, precluding the Council from adding new roads to the current salting routes without removing the service from another area of the county.
Please note that at times of severe weather conditions, Kildare County Council staff, during the working day, may give priority to other roads and junctions outside of our standard routes that need treatment. This may include snow clearing and salting on additional roads at critical locations. Therefore, due to resource limitations, it is not possible to facilitate this request for further routes to be added to the current Winter Maintenance Plan.
Question – Councillor William Durkan
Can the council confirm any plans to improve the bus stop at Carbury Mushrooms to include improved bus stop cover?
Report: This bus stop has been included on the list for improvement under the Kildare Bus Stop Enhancement Programme (BSEP) funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
Kildare County Council is awaiting details from the NTA’s supplier for the new bus shelter designs and specifications. When received, Kildare County Council will then be in a position to progress the BSEP to include the installation of new bus shelters throughout County Kildare.
Motion – Councillor William Durkan
That the council provides an update on the Mobile Library Service within the municipal district and identifies any required supports to maintain and improve the service.
Report: The Library Service has a new driver recently appointed for the Mobile Library Service. After a break of 7 months the service is now back in operation since Tuesday 30 September beginning with the Kill route. The service in the Clane Maynooth Municipal District will be back on the Prosperous route commencing on Tuesday 14 October. This good news story has been shared with primary schools and mobile library users on all routes and announced through the Kildare Library Service social media.
Further good news is that the procurement for a new mobile library vehicle funded by a capital grant from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG) with match funding from Kildare County Council has been completed.
There is a lead time of approximately 14 months from order to delivery of a bespoke designed mobile library vehicle. This new mobile library will be fuelled by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), include solar panels, will be fully accessible, have access to Wi-Fi and digital technology. On delivery of this new vehicle the Library Service plans to explore options to extend the service and use the mobile library for expanded outreach to communities in Kildare and as a Library Service promotional tool at events and festivals. The elected members will be kept informed when the new vehicle arrives in late Quarter 4 2026.
