{"id":632245,"date":"2026-09-22T07:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T07:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632245\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T07:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T07:56:13","slug":"the-forgotten-village-a-population-of-700-yet-22000-vehicles-pass-through-it-per-day-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632245\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The forgotten village\u2019: a population of 700, yet 22,000 vehicles pass through it per day \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

At rush hour on the banks of the river Nanny, a few kilometres south of Drogheda, traffic crawls through Julianstown along its arterial thoroughfare, the R132.<\/p>\n

Though it is home to only 700 residents, the Co Meath<\/a> village is surrounded by some of Ireland\u2019s fastest-growing communities. <\/p>\n

Meath ranked second for population growth in the 2022 census, up 13 per cent on its 2016 total, with populations exploding in the likes of Bettystown, Laytown, Grange Rath and Donacarney.<\/p>\n

The upshot for Julianstown is an average of 22,000 vehicles per day pass through, according to data from Transport Infrastructure Ireland<\/a>, which oversees the State\u2019s road network.<\/p>\n

While many of these cause rush-hour congestion, residents are more concerned about offpeak hours when vehicles drive freely and at greater speed.<\/p>\n

\"HeavyHeavy traffic makes its way through the Co Meath village of Julianstown. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

\u201cMy main concern would really be the speed of the traffic and slowing it down,\u201d says local resident Emer Brennan. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel that every time we step outside our door to travel to and from school, or wherever we\u2019re going, people are not adhering to the speed limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brennan grew up in Julianstown and is raising four children in the village with her husband, Richard Brennan, who is the chair of a campaign group called Yes to Julianstown Traffic Relief, No to Another Bypass.<\/p>\n

The lengthy title details the dispute at the centre of the community: residents want traffic problems solved, but many are unhappy with Meath County Council<\/a>\u2019s approach. <\/p>\n

In July, the council held a public consultation on the second phase of its Julianstown traffic-relief scheme. <\/p>\n

It presented four options to tackle congestion, each of which involved the construction of a bypass of some description to the west of the village. <\/p>\n

Many residents say the problem is a lack of access to the M1, part of which forms the existing Drogheda bypass, completed in 2003. The motorway runs parallel to Julianstown, but a large number of commuters have to pass through the village to get to it. <\/p>\n

Meath is the county with the highest proportion of long commutes \u2013 defined as a journey of one hour or more \u2013 according to data from the 2022 census.<\/p>\n

\"TrafficTraffic passing through Julianstown, Co Meath, earlier this month. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a lot of local residents have felt,\u201d Richard Brennan says, \u201cis that providing a better link option to the M1 is the least disruptive option. The problem is access to the M1 at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Western bypass options would cut through farmland and existing local roads, Brennan says, adding that anywhere from five to 10 houses could be affected. <\/p>\n

Many locals remember the construction of the M1 and the impact it had. \u201cThey don\u2019t need to do that again a second time to try to solve the same problem,\u201d Brennan says.<\/p>\n

The M1 toll plaza, Brennan says, is \u201cthe elephant in the room\u201d. Those driving southbound through Julianstown can avoid it, and he believes that, were it repositioned, some commuters from towns north of Julianstown would take alternative routes to access the M1.<\/p>\n

\"JulianstownJulianstown resident Richard Brennan (centre) and other locals who are concerned about traffic volume in the Co Meath village. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Potential solutions to heavy traffic are up for debate, but Brennan has been disappointed by the approach Meath County Council has taken, and what he perceives as a lack of communication with residents. <\/p>\n

The window granted for public consultation on the traffic-relief scheme was brief, locals feel, and there was a lack of detail on the options being presented, including ambiguity around the maps highlighting proposed routes for a bypass. <\/p>\n

With the community voicing its discontent, a majority of councillors backed a motion of no confidence in the options presented during the consultation period. <\/p>\n

Madeleine Woods, another local resident, says people in the area have for a decade been told upgrades to the village\u2019s road safety infrastructure cannot be carried out until Uisce \u00c9ireann<\/a> completes planned work on its local network. She sees footpaths and speed bumps as immediate priorities.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018We have to deliver infrastructure at pace\u2019: Uisce \u00c9ireann shifts focus to facilitate housingOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody can leave their children,\u201d Woods says. \u201cKids live on both sides of these roads; none of them can cross the road without a parent. These are fifth- and sixth-class children that should be given that independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JulianstownJulianstown is in a valley, with roads sloping downwards. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

As well as the traffic-relief scheme, a traffic-calming scheme for Julianstown has been in effect for several years, but necessary improvements have not materialised. <\/p>\n

Just before this school year began, a yellow box junction was repainted outside the gates of Whitecross National School and some coloured tarmac was added just before the existing pedestrian crossing at the school. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018Pennywise and billions foolish\u2019: Infrastructure adviser criticises historic State approach to big projectsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

A temporary digital speed checker is also positioned on a footpath, flashing to show motorists their speed as they pass, but speeding remains a big problem, particularly when larger, heavy goods vehicles come down the R132. <\/p>\n

Julianstown is in a valley of sorts, with the road sloping down towards the village on either side, and traffic often accelerates through from both directions as a result.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve rang different entities to try to get a speed van out,\u201d Woods says, bemoaning a general lack of Garda presence in the area. \u201cThey say it\u2019s outsourced and nothing to do with them. It really is the forgotten village.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need that road slowed down,\u201d says her father, Tom Woods. \u201cI\u2019m just hoping it\u2019s not one of mine, because there\u2019s going to be a child knocked down at that school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strains on local infrastructure are felt in a variety of ways as housing developments continue to be approved in surrounding commuter towns. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had three electrical outages in the area last week,\u201d Madeleine Woods says. \u201cThe infrastructure on any level isn\u2019t there, so we are all bracing ourselves for the winter now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emer Brennan adds: \u201cEverybody is just really concerned that all of these outages are related to the excessive building, pushing the already-present infrastructure to its absolute limit … We\u2019re already at the pin of our collar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point is they\u2019re not putting in the foundations in the infrastructure before they expand,\u201d Richard Brennan says.<\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il councillor Stephen McKee tabled the motion of no confidence at the recent public consultation on the traffic-relief scheme. Having grown up in the area, he acknowledges the \u201cinability of infrastructure to keep pace with the rapid population growth\u201d. <\/p>\n

McKee says another part of the issue is a lack of investment in Drogheda, which is a hub just across the county border for communities in east Co Meath. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou effectively have Drogheda and east Meath becoming a commuter belt area,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201c[There\u2019s a] lack of local jobs; everybody\u2019s trying to get to Dublin. Thankfully, some people can work from home, but it\u2019s having a major impact on the quality of life of residents as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey spend a lot of time in traffic. Young people with young families. They don\u2019t have the time for getting involved, as much as they\u2019d like to, locally in community clubs and so on because a lot of them are spending hours commuting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some \u20ac300,000 was allocated to the traffic-calming scheme several years ago, according to McKee. He says there is a \u201chuge infrastructure deficit\u201d in the area and suggests the issues affecting Julianstown \u2013 an absence of footpaths and local amenities, for instance \u2013 are replicated across commuter towns in the area.<\/p>\n

On its website, Meath County Council lists a contract awarded to Systra Ltd, with a value of \u20ac431,860, for phase two of the Julianstown traffic-relief scheme, which expired in August. <\/p>\n

The council says it \u201ccannot comment on individual contracts\u201d.<\/p>\n

A council representative says all submissions received in relation to the recent public consultation will be considered \u201calongside technical assessments, environmental studies and traffic modelling\u201d. <\/p>\n

The council anticipates that another public consultation \u201con an emerging preferred option\u201d will take place later this year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At rush hour on the banks of the river Nanny, a few kilometres south of Drogheda, traffic crawls…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12210,61,60,15949,26685,43,29094,776],"class_list":["post-632245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-drogheda","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-meath","tag-meath-county-council","tag-news","tag-transport-infrastructure-ireland","tag-uisce-eireann"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}