Councillor William Durkan

I: Clane-Maynooth MD: February 2025

Tag: community

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: February 2025

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the February 2025 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council identifies the most suitable design/location for a pedestrian crossing in Broadford Village to connect the car park with the school and church and provides a costing estimate for same.

    Report: The request has been added to a list of similar requests in the County and shall be examined when staff resources are available.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council conducts a review of ‘Nan Brennan’s’ Junction on the L1002 near Calfstown in order to improve road safety in the area.

    Report: Kildare County Council is currently progressing a junction improvement project that is looking at ten junctions across the county. This project focuses on locations of interest identified in the Collision Analysis for Regional Road Network work completed by the Department of Transport Support Office.

    This location is not identified in this collision analysis, nor has it been included in the low-cost safety improvement schemes that are to be delivered in 2025. Kildare County Council does not have the funding or resources to review junctions that fall outside of these criteria.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council outline an expected timeline for the completion of all stages of the ongoing speed limit review within the municipal district?

    Report: During 2024 Kildare County Council (KCC) undertook a public consultation process for the review of speed limits on rural local roads. This review arose from recent legislation (Road Traffic Act 2024) which provides for the phased lowering of default speed limits in Ireland.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council outline the number of potential ‘serviced site’ schemes that may be advanced within the municipal district over the coming years, and what conditions are needed to progress same.

    Report: The Serviced Sites Scheme for County Kildare which sets out the terms and conditions for compliance with the scheme is available on the Council website. Volume 2 of the Kildare County Development Plan 2023-2029 identifies all sites designated “Serviced Sites” across the county.

    The Council are currently running a serviced sites pilot scheme in Clogherinkoe, in the Clane – Maynooth Municipal District. Further pilots will be determined on completion on the current project in Clogherinkoe and subject to resources.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: January 2025

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the January 2025 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillors Tim Durkan, William Durkan and Brendan Wyse

    That the members allocate €300,000 of LPT money to the area engineer to deliver safety improvement works outside all national schools within the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District to include pencil bollards, school zone road markings and warning lights.

    Report: The allocation of funding under LPT is a matter for the members to agree.

    *Subsequently Agreed and Accepted

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council adds roads at Dunfeirth Crossroads, both westbound (L-1004) and southbound (L-5013), to the 2025 works programme regarding resurfacing and road markings.

    Report: This request will be considered as part of the road works programme for 2025.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council provide an update on the pending ESB connection to lights at Boherhole Cross, and expected completion date?

    Report: Due to storm Daragh, there has been an increase in the number of outages. ESB have advised us that they are still overwhelmed by the workload resulting from storm Daragh and are prioritising restoring power to homes. Unfortunately, we are unable to give an expected date as it out of the control of Kildare County Council and the Public Lighting Contractor. We will continue liaise with ESB to prioritise the work.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council confirm if it has any plans to develop amenities at Johnstown Bridge?

    Report: There are no immediate plans to develop amenities at Johnstown Bridge. It has been identified as a location to provide a playground in in the Kildare Play Strategy. This would require the identification of an appropriate site and funding to provide it.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: November 2024

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the November 2024 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council arrange a site visit with residents of Anne Street, Prosperous to consider faded road markings and the condition of footpaths in the estate.

    Report: The Municipal District Engineer will carry out an inspection of the road markings and footpaths in Anne Street and carry out any routine maintenance required

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council confirm any plans to update the westbound bus stop at the Broadford Junction on the R148, following recent welcome improvements to the eastbound stop at this location?

    Report: Kildare County Council is awaiting the appointment of a new staff member to progress bus stop infrastructure improvement works. When this occurs, the team will review and examine the list of existing bus stops across the county and produce a priority list, broken down by Municipal District area.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council confirm any plans to review traffic management at the crossroads in Prosperous Town, with a view to improving public safety?

    Report: Improvements to this junction have been conditioned as part of the extension to the adjacent secondary school and will be completed prior to the occupation of the new school.

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: October 2024

    The below Motions and Questions were raised at the October 2024 meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council provides a costing for the provision of pedestrian lights in Broadford Village to improve the safety of school and church users in the area.

    Report: This request has been added to list of similar type requests in the County and the location shall be assessed to determine what/if any measures are required when resources become available.

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan

    That the council provides a costing for the resurfacing of the L-70781 near Cock Bridge (off R409) and clarify the extent of the lane that is in the charge of Kildare County Council.

    Report: The cost to resurface this road would be estimated to be in the region of €70,000. This is an estimate and could not be confirmed until tenders would be received. The pavement management system shows 526 metres of the road as listed in charge; however, the Municipal District Engineer understands that the lane is in charge to the last bend.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan

    Can the council provide an update on the conduct of a speed limit review in the case of Kilshanroe Village, as discussed at the previous meeting?

    Report: A 2023 Speed Limit Review was completed by the Department of Transport. Based on a direction (RS01/2024) received from the Department of Transport the following default speed limits are to be implemented:

    • 30km/h (Urban Areas)
    • 60 km/h (Rural Local Roads)
    • 80km/h (National Secondary Roads)
    •  

    The default speed limits are to take effect on a staggered basis with provisional commencement dates as follows:

    • End of November 2024 for Rural Local Roads.
    • First part of 2025 for National Secondary Road and Urban Speed Limits

    Kilshanroe Village is located on a Regional Road (R402) and is not being examined as part of the current phase of works (rural local roads).

  • Clane-Maynooth MD: July 24

    Motions & Questions Raised at the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District July 2024 Meeting:

    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council provides urgent footpath repairs in the case of Donore Cottages, due to safety and accessibility concerns raised by residents in the area.
    Report: There is no funding allocated in the 2024 budget to repair these footpaths. The Municipal District office will add this request to the list and should funding become available, works will be scheduled. Otherwise, this request can be considered as part of the 2025 works programme.


    Motion – Councillor William Durkan
    That the council provides signage at the gateway points of Johnstownbridge Village, in line with similar measures in other towns in the area.
    Report: The Johnstownbridge Village Renewal Masterplan has been developed and agreed in consultation with residential and commercial stakeholders in town/village, the elected members and the relevant departments within the Local Authority. Some projects will be delivered in the short term and others in the medium to longer term, taking into account funding availability, land ownership etc. The Masterplan is an important tool that will enable Kildare County Council and the community to apply for a range of funding schemes, including the Rural Regeneration Development Fund and the Town and Village funding where a greater priority is given to the funding of projects which are considered part of an overall village plan. Currently Strategic Projects and Public Realm do not have funding in place for the delivery of the village gateways projects. Projects will be delivered when funding becomes available through the various Town Renewal funding streams, Local Property Tax or in partnership with other Local Authority Departments to leverage available funding from other work programmes. It should be noted that the projects identified in the Masterplan are conceptual only and may be subject to appropriate planning consents and further consultation processes prior to detail design and construction stage.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on when road works will be completed in the case of the L-5071 through Staplestown Village?
    Report: The Municipal District office is currently reviewing the budgets for resurfacing in 2024. A decision on the Staplestown Village works will be made in mid-July 2024.

    Question – Councillor William Durkan
    Can the council provide an update on when road works will be completed in the case of the L-5008 Road at Clogherinkoe?
    Report: The resurfacing of this road is currently awarded to a contractor and works should be completed within the next two months.