Pedestrian crossing call for Navan road serving elderly residents, disability services and commuters

Abbey Road in Navan has been described as a ‘death trap’ by local residents who want a pedestrian crossing on the busy street.

As one of the busiest streets in the town, the area has a huge footfall and very heavy traffic.

“We have elderly residents and users of disability services who have to try and cross the road here as well as shoppers, bus users and people using the car park” says Sharon Hayes, who lives in St Ultan's Tce.

“It is a death trap because of the speed and volume of the traffic,” she said.

“There are two disability services in the area and buses pull up in the car park and service users have to cross the road. Many of the residents of St Ultan's are very elderly. There are a lot of vulnerable road users in this area. People are taking their lives in their hands, trying to cross,” she said.

Sharon's 16 year old son, Josh, has Down's Syndrome and he often has to cross the road when his school bus stops.

“If there was a zebra crossing there, he is very careful and knows how to use it,” she said.

“It is very badly needed. Prosper are just around the corner. A new adult disability service is opening on Abbey Road and the car park is one of the busiest in the town.

“If there was a zebra crossing there, it would help slow traffic down.”

Cllr Eddie Fennessy raised the issue at a meeting of Navan Municipal Council where he called for “the construction of a pedestrian crossing on Abbey Road at the bus stop and car park behind the Town Hall.”

He was told that while there was not a proposal for a controlled crossing on Abbey Road in this year’s programme of work, it would be added it to the list of requested works and assessed for it for suitability for future programmes.

While Cllr Fennessy welcomed the council’s commitment to include a pedestrian crossing on Abbey Road in future works lists, he urge the council to secure the required funding as soon as possible.

“Abbey Road doesn’t have much by way of residential development, however St Ultan’s Terrace is one of the oldest in Navan and the age demographic amongst the residents is quite high. Mobility is an issue and safety on the road is of paramount importance.

“Whilst quiet in terms of residents, Abbey Road is quite busy from a services and economic perspective. The car park brings hundreds of shoppers to the area every day. And we also have two disability service providers operating on Abbey Road.

“Prosper Meath has a very busy centre on Watergate Street. Minibuses packed with service users can not enter the back of the centre through Abbey Road, which forces them to disembark on the car park and cross a busy road to access the facility.

“Rehab Care is in the process of moving from Mullaghboy to a premises on Abbey Road. They too will have busloads of service users accessing the centre every day. And again, they will disembark on the car park behind the Town Hall and be forced to cross a road with no pedestrian safety infrastructure.

“There is a clear demand for pedestrian safety infrastructure on Abbey Road. I urge the council to consider the residents, shoppers and the Prosper Meath and Rehab Care service users when allocating next year’s transport budget. A safe crossing point on Abbey Road would be a worthwhile investment and mean a lot to the community,” he said.