Ashbourne commuters ‘left behind’ as population booms

With plans for almost 30,000 homes to be built in Meath over the next ten years, a local councillor has warned that the county is facing a public transport and parking crisis

Cllr Helen Meyer points out that almost 1,000 housing units will be completed in the Ashbourne area alone in the next few months and warned that many of the new residents will be commuting to Dublin.

She has called for increased bus capacity and park and ride facilities and has expressed concern about the new planning bill which will see a maximum of 1.5 parking paces per dwelling in new developments.

“It is really important that public transport is development hand in hand with housing developments, but this doesn't seem to be happening. Current public transport is barely fit for service and there doesn't seem to be any big plans to increase it,” she said.

“People are regularly contacting me about buses that don't show up, and they have bee just left standing on the side of the road. As it is they need greater capacity, what will it be life when there are another 1,000 houses in Ashbourne,” she asked.

At a recent meeting of Ashbourne Municipal Council, Cllr Meyer called on the council “to liaise closely with Bus Eireann to ensure passenger capacity is increased for the buses in Ashbourne, in conjunction with the almost 1000 housing units that will be completed in the next few months in Ashbourne.”

She was told Meath County Council Transportation Department regularly liaises and cooperates with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and relevant bus services authorities and operators.

She was told the council had highlighted the matters she had raised by with the National Transport Authority. “Meath County Council provides assistance to the National Transport Authority in respect of the delivery of the sustainable infrastructure, such as the project management of the construction works relating to bus stops, and those necessary for example to facilitate the erection of new or replacement bus shelters.”

Cllr Meyer has welcomed plans for a Park and Ride facility in Ashbourne, pointing out that it was badly needed. “I have had people say to me that they would take the bus rather than drive if there was somewhere to park.

“This is badly needed and i hope it is progressed as quickly as possible.”

Ashbourne has been identified as the location for one of 13 strategic Park and Ride facilities to be delivered within the Greater Dublin Area as part of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area .

The strategy recommended the provision of a bus based Park and Ride at junction 3 of the M2 and a number of site options were considered. A preferred site has emerged and the NTA is currently working on the preliminary design and discussions have also commenced with the landowner. If landowner negotiations are successful, it is hoped that the planning process would commence early next year.

Cllr Meyer has described as “insane” the new planning bill provisions which allows for just one parking space per housing unit in city centres and 1.5 parking spaces per unit elsewhere.

“This will cause chaos,” she said. “I have heard of a situation in places where there were fist fights over parking spaces. The changes are that in smaller units, you will have a couple, both with cars, and in bigger houses where families are growing up there can be three, four or five cars..

“This proposal is developer friendly. Parking spaces cost developers money. I wouldn't mind if we were developing a really efficient reliable public transport scheme, but as it is the proposal is absurd,” she said.