Kildare 2012 - An Economic, Social and Cultural Strategy
A Vision for Transport and Communications in 2012
By 2012, Kildare will be a vibrant, linked-up county where people travel safely and easily on an excellent transport network, using a fully accessible public transport system which covers every area of the county. The use of the car and commuting will have decreased as people walk and cycle and, because of Kildare's position as a leader in ICTs, people will increasingly, by choice, telework from home using the county's ICT infrastructure and affordable home Internet access.
Demand for Transport
The
2,268km of roads in Kildare, of which almost 40 kilometres
are motorway, experience ever growing levels of traffic each
year. Levels of commuting also continue to increase. Between
1991 and 1996 the percentage of people in Kildare travelling
over 15 miles to work increased by 63.1%. This level of commuting
and the increasing demands on our roads have implications
for the quality and capacity of transport infrastructure,
for quality of life and community and for sustainability.
Along with our roads infrastructure, 10 rail stations serve Kildare and a number of bus routes cross the county which are also experiencing ever-increasing demand. Co-ordination between public and private transport provision and between different modes of transport is poor and opportunities to increase the effectiveness of transport through co-operation are evident. The work of local development agencies, such as OAK Partnership and Action South Kildare, form the basis for developing these opportunities. These significant and growing pressures on our transport infrastructure point to the need for new ways to manage demand, to decrease traffic on our roads and to increase the capacity and use of public transport.
The Urban and Rural Transport Audits undertaken by Kildare County Development Board in 2001 clearly point to areas of greatest demand among residents and put forward a number of suggestions which will improve services in the county. These suggestions have been taken on board in the Action Plan. Copies of the Transport Audits are available from Kildare County Development Board.
Goal 1 - To manage demand for transport in order to:
- decrease the use of the private car
- make alternative commuting modes a relatively straightforward activity
- ensure best use of existing and potential transport resources
In order to achieve this goal we need to:
- achieve a "growable" transport system
- provide a mechanism for co-ordinated transport planning and provision recognising three levels of need: local, county-wide, regional
- encourage and enable people to use alternative modes of transport to the car
Public and Private Transport Systems
The over-riding feature of all of Kildare's public transport infrastructure, both road and rail, is that it runs on an east-west basis, towards and out of Dublin. Inter-town linkages are virtually non-existent and very few local services are available in rural areas. Private operators in almost all cases provide those local linkages that are present.
Rural areas experience the greatest disadvantage in this regard as they are prevented from accessing the social and cultural services located in towns. Community cohesion is weakened by the lack of publicly available transport links as areas are divided from each other and the focus of some areas, particularly the northeast, is towards Dublin rather than the rest of the county because of ease of access. Designing services which respond to customers needs and become more customer focussed and affordable will improve the quality and increase the use of public transport.
Goal 2 - To have an integrated, comprehensive, reliable and accessible public and private transport system
In doing this we will have to:
- develop all necessary transport linkages within the county and outside
- guide transport provision to meet the needs of people with reduced mobility
- have an excellent county-wide network of roads to serve all users
Safety on our Roads
Traffic and road safety is an increasingly important issue both nationally and for Kildare. Over the past four years 80 people have been killed on roads in the county. With ever growing levels of traffic on our roads and increased risk of accidents, education and enforcement of legislation as well as changes in design are becoming more important. Safety on our transport infrastructure must be a key goal for this strategy.
Goal 3 - To improve safety on our roads and transport network
In order to achieve this goal, we need to:
- reduce the number of people injured and killed using our transport infrastructure
- improve road safety in urban and rural areas
Information & Communications Technology
With its high proportion of high-tech industries Kildare has become a leader in ICTs and communications. Broadband and fibre-optic cables are widely dispersed throughout the county with Kildare often being the first county to benefit from roll-out from Dublin to the rest of the country. This technology offers potential for business expansion, attracting high-tech industries and also for exploring new ways of delivering services, education and information to the public.
Information Technology is publicly and freely accessible in all public libraries in the county. It is also available from a number of Internet Cafés and community-run facilities. The kildare.ie website acts as a portal for information on services, news and developments within the county and is currently expanding to provide information under a number of different headings such as arts, tourism, business and community.
This developing resource, and KELT's plans for new IT centres and training programmes, will ensure that all people in the county will have relative ease of access to information as well as the skills and hardware necessary to effectively use new technologies.
Goal 4 - To retain Kildare's position as a leader in the field of ICTs
To achieve this goal we will:
- continue to promote Kildare as a location for ICT and high tech industry
- provide ICT that is publicly accessible and affordable to all
