Naas says no to truck traffic

The bustling town of Naas in Co. Kildare was brought to standstill on Saturday 10th November when more than 300 demonstrators marched on the Town Hall to protest at the number of heavy goods vehicles passing through the town, writes John Loughran.

In the past six months two pedestrians have died in the north-Kildare town following collisions with heavy goods vehicles.
The most recent, the death of 83-year old Kathleen Brennan, Fairgreen Street, Naas proved to be the catalyst for an out-pouring of grief and emotion that lead to the protest.

Local journalist Eamonn O'Boyle who covered the protest for the Leinster Leader outlined the background to the protest. "In the past six months two old ladies have been knocked down and died. On the day of the protest a gentleman was knocked down by a truck and was hospitalised. In the last few years there have been a number of fatalities involving HGV's."

It has been estimated that more than 300 refuse trucks pass through the main street each day en route to a private landfill dump in Kilcullen as well as ordinary HGV traffic. Coming from all over Leinster, the refuse trucks are diverting off the dual- carriageway and using the main street of the town as a short cut knocking 20 miles off the round trip in the process.

The residents now want this traffic to avoid the town completely. Local Urban District Councillor Mary Glennon who organised the protest with fellow councillor Pat Mc Carthy wants to reclaim the main street of the town for the people of the town. The move has been well received by residents. "More than 300 people attended the rally and over 1,800 people signed our petition in the space of the three hours," she commented.

She continued: "The trucks that we are particularly targeting are the refuse vehicles. They are passing through the town at the rate of one a minute at the moment. We want these trucks to use the bypass. The reason the bypass was put there in the first place was to alleviate the traffic problem and to allow people who don't have business in Naas to go about their business more quickly and efficiently. These trucks should be using the bypass. They should not be coming through residential areas."

The ad hoc committee want Kildare County Council to review the planning conditions for the landfill site in the wake of the most recent tragedy. "Kildare County Council gave planning permission for this dump and we want them to review the conditions of the planning permission."

According to the councillor there are a number of alternatives open to the Council and she is urging it to take action. “There is another route from the motorway across to Ladytown and up through Corbally. If that road was upgraded it could do the job. There is a very low density housing in that area so there are alternatives. Naas shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the traffic."

The councillor is fully aware that the refuse companies using the landfill sites are running on tight margins and she can understand their logic in taking the shortest possible route to the dump. However, in the interests of safety she feels there must be room for compromise.
"We feel there should be a compromise. The trucks should either run through the night, or come through Naas and back onto the motorway via Kilcullen. The second option would halve the number of trucks coming through the town."

Naas Urban District Council has asked the County Council to impose a bye-law preventing trucks greater than three tonnes from entering the centre of the town during business hours. The motion, however popular was a non-runner but it has focussed attention on the current problem of unwanted HGV's using the town as a gateway to Kilcullen.

"The Urban District Council passed a motion last October (2000) and the Town Clerk pursued it with the County Council. The County Manager has promised to talk with the developer (of the landfill) and he (the County Manager) promised he would do whatever is necessary to alleviate the problem."
The councillor also hit out the distribution process adopted by the large retail multiples and its suitability for towns such as Naas. " We don't want to disrupt the commercial and business life of the town. But some of these trucks are far too big for the town. They should distribute their goods in smaller vans. They could come into the town early in the morning or late at night to distribute their goods."

Mary has a certain sympathy for the haulage industry and has no particular axe to grind with truckers. However, she believes that the main street in Naas is no place for heavy goods vehicles. The tragic death of Kathleen Brennan amongst others looks set to bind the community together in its fight to exclude HGV's from the town.

"Last week Kathleen Brennan, 83, a mother of five was killed by a refuse truck. She was very popular and very well known in the town. People were devastated. Councillor Pat McCarthy's son Eoin was killed in the exact same spot three years ago by a cattle truck and trailer coming from the Curragh. Frances Corrigan had a heart attack on the street and fell under an HGV outside Super Quinn. She died under the HGV. We really have loses their life," she concluded.