Julianstown

Laytown School

I guess everyone in the area has been following the Laytown School story. There was an extensive piece in yesterdays Irish Times and even today the "This Week" program had an extensive piece (listen) .

I had to admire the articulate way the parents interviewed expressed themselves and what they said not only goes for Laytown but also for Julianstown with terrible traffic, no new infrastructure or amenities, and nobody seemingly able or willing to do anything about it.

I also got the Draft Planning Strategy for the Greater Drogheda Area which is supposed to be the blueprint for the area for the next 20 years or so. It pointed out that there enough zoned land in the region to to treble the size of Drogheda and double the population of the East Meath area, bringing the area population to over 130,000 people.

There is nothing in this plan to accommodate traffic heading south, most of which travels through Julianstown. While the plan envisages an "M1/N1" connector road along the route of the existing Beamore Road, it is doubtful that it would be the route of choice for traffic heading to Dublin since it is 60% longer in distane and is tolled. Even worse the route will not be finished for another 10 years, by which time there will be another 50% more people living in the area and no doubt driving through Julianstown everyday.

What's worse there is a proposal to build an eastern route around Drogheda over a new bridge, amking it much easier for traffic from Dorgheda's North side to avoid tolls and drive through Julianstown.

I would urge readers to look at the plan and make a submission.

posted by FPL @ 5:23 PM