Julianstown

Julianstown traffic volumes continue to increase.

Figures released for the first three months of this year show traffic volumes increased by 5% over the same period last year. Comparing February 2006 with February 2005 on average there were over 1000 extra vehicles per day using the small village.

The National Roads Authority maintains a network of traffic counters on various roads around the country and details volumes of traffic, volumes of HGVs and various statistics based on the data, which supposedly are fed into road planning decisions.

For Julianstown the latest numbers show two significant trends. Firstly the number of HGVs is marginally decreasing or at worst staying the same as use of the toll has become more widespread and the significant traffic congestion in Drogheda deters HGVs using Julianstown as a through route, at least during the day. On the other hand non-HGV traffic has increased by 6% buoyed by the significant population increase in the area.

Julianstown is the only convenient way in or out of South Drogheda or the coastal villages for people heading South towards Dublin. And with the population of both these areas set to double over the next several years it there would appear to be no end to he increase in traffic volumes and congestion in Julianstown. As our graph show, the trend in year on year growth is such that volumes will be back to pre M1 levels in 2-3 years time.

There is no reason to suspect that traffic volumes are going to decrease or level off given the level of development in the area. In fact there are several new large scale housing developments under construction or at the planning stage in the Bryanstown/Stameen area and with the 64 acre Lyons farm on the market there will be more population expansion in Laytown/Bettystown.

At the same time Meath County Council are about to erect traffic lights and undertake road narrowing work in Julianstown in an effort to slow traffic down. This will no doubt, in the short term at least, exacerbate village congestion.

A solution to this mess is being presented in the form of a link road from Beamore to Colpe, taking in South Drogheda and Grange Rath, but with the exit planned for the North Side of the tolls it is hard to see why this will not be a white elephant with commuters opting for the shorter, free route through Julianstown.

posted by FPL @ 3:48 PM