Hopes of fresh move on Slane bypass dashed

Furious Bypass Slane campaigners, who say their village is being "terrorised" by traffic on a daily basis, have been devastated to learn that lack of funds will stop any moves to lodge a fresh planning application for the bypass. They are now calling on Meath's government TDs to use their influence to have funding made available to re-submit an application to An Bord Pleanála before someone else loses their life on the treacherous N2 through the village. They have accused politicians and the NRA of prevarication when it comes to solving the dangerous traffic conditions in the village and say they were left with more questions than answers following a meeting last week with the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar. The campaigners heard that among the options currently being considered are a toll on the N2, a traffic management plan banning trucks through the village, and a proposal not to charge trucks a toll on the M1. The proposal to toll the N2 has met with strong opposition locally amid claims that it would cause traffic chaos in other villages around the county. According to Michelle Power of the Bypass Slane campaign, they questioned the minister and the chief executive of the NRA, Fred Barry, on how they now plan to deal with the hazardous traffic conditions in Slane in light of An Bord Pleanála's decision to refuse permission for the Slane bypass. "Fred Barry indicated that the NRA had completed a study on tolling options. Additional tolls could either be the solution, or part of a solution, to remove the large volume of HGV traffic travelling through Slane. Minister Varadkar advised that he was not in favour of further tolling on the national road network, but that Meath County Council would ultimately have to make this decision," said Ms Power. "A vital missing piece of the jigsaw is a report, now in draft, completed by Meath County Council on the feasibility of an HGV ban through Slane," she added. "We highlighted our concerns in relation to traffic management options to the minister and we await with interest the county council's report on an HGV ban. "We are anxious to know where traffic will be moved to, if it cannot travel through Slane. Will local businesses be accommodated with a permit system and who will police this to ensure that HGVs entering the village are doing so legitimately?" She said that in the discussions with the minister, the group made it clear that the Slane community has no wish or desire to see neighbouring towns and villages plagued by the traffic that currently travels through Slane. "We clearly stated that any traffic alternatives implemented must deliver the same level of protection to our community that a bypass would before it can be deemed an acceptable solution to the people who live here," she said. Any truck ban introduced must be on a trial-basis with specific objectives in order to measure the success or otherwise of the undertaking, she said, adding: "We see a ban as a test and not a solution." Minister Varadkar indicated that he did not believe a truck ban through Slane could work and that a new application for a bypass seemed inevitable. "However, unless efforts are made to thoroughly investigate alternatives to a bypass and prove their ineffectiveness or otherwise, there is little point in lodging the same application with An Bord Pleanála. In any event, it was clear from the minister that, due to the current financial situation the country finds itself in, there will be no new application for a bypass in the short- to medium-term."