Volume II - Kildare.ie

N7 Naas Road Widening & Interchanges Scheme
Given the lack of concentrated new development along the main streets for either
village, the general public space facilities are rather basic. Footways are often limited in
length and do not extend for the full stretch of the main street. In many cases footways
are only on one side of the carriageway while on-street car parking has not been laid
out in an orderly fashion. With respect to the T-junctions, pedestrian space is limited
due to vehicular loading being given prominence and in the case of Johnstown there is
no footway extending from the junction to new housing to the hinterland of the village.
Though cycle ways are not a usual feature in Irish villages, there is a notable volume of
cyclists associated with the school at Kill and they share the same carriageway with
vehicles.
9.20.2 IMPACT OF PREFERRED SCHEME
The proposed new traffic flow pattern developed in conjunction with the widening of the
existing N7 will result in a different set of priorities for traffic movement within the
villages. This will impact on road lanes, kerbs, junctions along the main streets (i.e.
existing connections to the National Primary Route N7 will be removed), and require
mitigation through design recommendations that will enhance the village character.
Proposals for linking to the N7 interchanges rely on extending the village main streets.
This approach reinforces the existing resource of the main street while reducing impact
on the existing land uses. Though connection relies on acquisition of some developed
lands located at the termini of the existing main streets, the scale of both the proposed
works and location of the connections are in sympathy with the growth patterns of the
villages. The linkage points leading to the interchanges are at the least desirable growth
points for the villages. As such, proposed works do not develop a new emphasis within
the village or re-orientate the village to new nodes. Thus the developing character for
the villages is retained. Impacts relating to the village streetscapes are minimal as
proposals seek to introduce a range of improvements that are not out of scale with the
main streets.
The most significant change will be the increase of through traffic on the main street.
The indirect impact will be the consolidation of the main street as a route rather than as
a short street to the N7 junction. This may increase the demand for the main streets to
serve the commercial need of the community. Commercial operations relying on N7
connection will be re-orientated to the main street because this will be the only direct
vehicular access. This may put pressure on these facilities to address the main street
rather than the N7.
Environmental Impact Statement 183
June 2001
Volume 2