A controversial “Road to Nowhere” cycle lane that has been the subject of protest marches and likened to North Korea is to be upgraded.
The 3km long lane on the R448 connects the villages of Moone and Timolin in South Kildare and has been criticised for its design flaws and the narrowing of the road for vehicles. A recent safety audit found the project suffered from “poor lighting, inadequate signage and misalignment of the cycle route.” The Irish Cycling Campaign raised concerns over the proposal during the project’s consultation and local cycling clubs have warned the new junction layout would deter cyclists from using the infrastructure.
Athy Town Councillor Aoife Breslin raised the cycle lane at a recent meeting, demanding a meeting with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the government agency responsible for the cycle lane, the Kildare Nationalist reported. Other councillors said they had “lost complete confidence” in TII. It was not confirmed what specific amendments to the infrastructure will be made, but council officials said traffic cones would be deployed, further reducing the road width when the work gets underway next month.
A central pillar of the protests last summer was the suggestion that the road narrowing made the R448 a “death trap” and would not enable two combine harvesters to pass one another. In November, a residents’ association calling for the cycle lane’s removal claimed that more than 40 road incidents had occurred since the lane’s construction, including drivers hitting the cycle lane kerb and puncturing, cars breaking down, and instances of drivers not having a hard shoulder on which to pull over. Teachta Dála (Member of Parliament) Mark Hall recently said more than 90 incidents occurred since the lane’s installation was completed, though it is not clear what was being measured as an incident.
Kildare R448 cycle lane protest (Image Credit: The Road to Nowhere/Facebook)
In a statement made prior to the latest safety works being confirmed, TII said that the scheme was designed “in line with all relevant standards and has already undergone independent road safety audits.” They added that the project “went through a statutory process of the Road Traffic Act, which included a public consultation.”
The news of the cycle lane upgrade coincides with the route unveiling of the Rás Tailteann, Ireland’s most prestigious cycling stage race. The five day event, running from the 20th to the 24th May, will use the R448 on the final stage which will start in Carlow before travelling north for a circuit finish in Dunboyne. The race, which uses rolling road closures, is not expected to make use of the cycle lane though a Rás spokesperson did not respond to the Kildare Nationalist’s request for comment seeking to clarify the route.