New hope for slane bypass with change to road bill

As campaigners for the Slane Bypass prepare to meet Transport Minister, Pascal Donohoe tomorrow, an amendment to the Road Traffic Bill could prove a major help in progressing the Slane Bypass.
The National Roads Authority, Meath County Council and the Bypass Slane Campaign are expected to meet the minister tomorrow, when they will present him with the findings of the report into traffic management options on the N2, which suggest a bypass for Slane is the only safe solution to the horrendous traffic chaos in the village.
Meanwhile the new amendment to the Road Traffic Bill will allow the National Roads Authority engage in consultation meetings with An Bord Pleanala prior to planning applications being made.
Deputy Helen McEntee has welcomed the amendment, pointing out that when discussing it, the Minister spoke of Slane Bypass and gave it as an example of where this could be extremely useful and help applications going through a tough process.
“ I believe the Minister is sympathetic to our situation in Slane and is doing everything he can to help us through the planning process.
“This week the Minister will be presented with the Road Traffic Management Report compiled by Meath County Council and and the NRA and we will discuss with the Minister, the NRA and Meath County Council what is the next step forward.
“I believe beyond all doubt that a bypass is the only solution for the village of Slane and the traffic management report only solidifies this. I also believe that the Minister’s decision to allow the NRA engage in pre consultation meetings with an Bord Pleanala will work in our favour and I hope that we can seriously look at putting in another application soon.”
Cllr Wayne Harding welcomed this week’s meeting and said that all interested groups will be around the table.
“A lot of work has been carried out since the refusal and it is now time to go back into the process and deliver a project that will save lives,” he said.
The report into traffic management options on the N2 which was published late last year suggests a bypass for Slane is the only safe solution to the horrendous traffic chaos in the village.
Now campaigners, who point out that 23 lives have been lost in road accidents in the village over several decades, are demanding that funding be provided immediately to progress the building of the bypass.
When An Bord Pleanla refused planning permission for the bypass in 2012 following an oral hearing, one of the reasons the board gave for the refusal of permission was that not all other traffic management solutions had been exhausted at that stage.
However, campaigners now say the new report proves conclusively there is no real alternative to a bypass if the people of Slane are to be protected.
The report looked at all possible options including blanket speed limits on the N2, a toll to the south of Slane, buying out the M1 toll contract, increased delays for HGVs at Slane Bridge, new signal controls at Kilmoon Cross and Balrath Cross and segregation of trucks and cars at the Rath roundabout outside Ashbourne and concluded none of the options would make the area safe or reduce traffic in Slane .
There was huge anger in Slane in March 2012 when An Bord Pleanala refused planning permission for the long-awaited road that would route traffic away from the centre of the village.
In its decision, the board said the proposed bypass was located in the Boyne Valley within the viewshed of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe. It also said that all other safety options had not yet been explored.