Navan 2030 project focus will shift to bus hub and park and ride facility

The New Year will see work start on Navan's Market Square, Kennedy Place and Abbey Road, as the Navan 2030 programme continues.

Work will also start early in the New Year on the new Park and Ride facility on the N51 at Moatlands.

At a meeting of Navan Municipal District last week, councillors heard that the current work on Ludlow Street, Market Square and Timmons Hill were progressing and no works are expected to take place in November or December.

Engineer, Cormac Ross said the next contract – for works on Market Square, Kennedy Road and Abbey Road would start in January or February.

“Engagement is taking place with stakeholders and is going well,” he said.

The main hub for the town will be at Kennedy Road, where there will be set back bus stops on both sides of the road. The €12 million Navan 2030 scheme will see the reversal of traffic on Ludlow Street with buses, taxis and cyclists allowed travel from Ludlow Street to Kennedy Road.

There will be a traffic light holding area on Market Square and Kennedy Road to regulate number of buses at any given time. The new park and ride facility for Navan is planned for the N51 beside the entrance to St Patrick's Classical School. It will be capable of accommodating up to four large coaches.

It will include two new bus shelters, a new bus stand area and cycle parking. The car parking area will be capable of accommodating a total of 181 car parking spaces, including six mobility impaired parking spaces and 18 e-car charging spaces. Other works at the site will include public lighting, a CCTV system, landscaping works and surface water drainage works.

The proposed car parking area will be accessed by a new vehicular two-way access located at the western end of the proposed site and will incorporate a ghost right turning lane for northbound traffic on the N51, and three pedestrian walkways accessed from the footway along the N51.

Each pedestrian walkway will facilitate mobility impaired access.

A pedestrian access to St Patrick’s Classical School will be provided as part of the facility there will be a link for cyclists to the public cycling infrastructure on the N51.

The meeting heard that plans for a park and ride facility at Liscarton are long term. Work on the 2030 scheme to date include the opening of Railway Street to two way traffic, new roundabouts at the foot of Boreen Keel and Abbey Road, as well as works at Bridge Street and Ludlow Street.