NAAS 15 January 2003: Divisions of opinion were apparent last night when Naas town councillors discussed the new traffic lights at South Main Street prior to getting on the with the Progress Report agenda for the meeting.
The issue was raised by Cllr Charlie Byrne who said there would be much more serious accidents at the lights than had ever been before. He told the meeting that Kildare County Council officials had told him themselves that the situation represented 'an absolute disaster'.
Though the lights have been working since just before Christmas, the pedestrian lights had been turned off following complaints that the timing and sequencing was unsafe.
A particular bone of contention is that drivers waiting to turn right onto the Newbridge Road get a green light at the same time as traffic from the Kilcullen Road is given a signal to cross the intersection.
Cllr Pat O'Reilly said he had been 'appalled' to see how the system operated before Christmas, with the pedestrian lights turned on. He said Kildare County Council's engineers had to 'get their act together'.
Cllr Willie Callaghan said the current sequencing only allowed three cars to get from the Kilcullen Road onto Main Street before the lights changed again. "It's a joke," he said, and added that he could see 'something very serious' happening. "The engineers have a lot to answer for."
Cllr Seamie Moore didn't think the situation was 'as as bad as people say'. "It's just not finished," he said. "And I think two or three cars coming through is enough at a time. There's certainly no case for putting a lot of cars through."
Cllr Mary Glennon said she was prepared to 'give the engineers the benefit of the doubt' until the system was finished, and suggested that the real problem was that people were 'not prepared for the changes'. "The important thing is to put up big signs so that drivers know the sequencing has been changed," she said.
Mayor Timmy Conway asked that the councillors' views be given to the engineers, noting that 'nothing is unfixable'. But he was critical of the amount of time the work was taking, and wondered if enough people were working on the project.
Town clerk Declan Kirrane said he would pass on the comments to the Director of Transport in Kildare County Council, and that the councillors could expect a response next Tuesday when the county manager and officials of Kildare County Council will be attending a meeting of the Town Council.
"This council is paying 50 per cent of the cost of the lights, and you have every right to comment," he said.
