Cllr. Kevin Callan welcomes agreement on Traffic Task Force for Town

Cllr. Kevin Callan welcomes agreement on Traffic Task Force for Town

Cllr. Kevin Callan told the Michael Reade Show on LMFM that he is very pleased with the support his proposal has received to see a traffic management group and public forum to deal with traffic issues such as congestion and estate parking has received at the monthly Borough Council meeting.

“I have brought this issue forward following the results of a GPS study which shows Drogheda to be the most congested town in Ireland based on the findings that traffic is travelling at less than 70% of the posted speed limit”.

Cllr Callan stated that the results of the survey were quite clear, we have a situation where Drogheda is the most congested town in Ireland with traffic travelling at under 70% of the posted speed limits.

“This is an issue that is letting the town down, all of the main routes including the Donore Road, Marsh Road, Dublin Road, Rathmullen Road, North Road, Termonfeckin Road are suffering from traffic congestion as is the town centre. We need to provide a task force made up of local groups, the Gardai, the roads and engineering sections of Drogheda Borough Council and a form of public consultation that allows people to have a say and an avenue to express their concerns around the area of traffic but also in the areas of parking as many residential areas are now being affected by pay parking in the town centre. Residential areas such as Anneville Crescent, Scarlet Crescent and Georgian Close are experiencing people parking in their estates and walking to work, we need to come up with solutions.

Cllr. Callan also referred to the Drogheda Transportation Study 2005 which set about addressing the many different transport issues.

“This document is excellent and was compiled following a detailed consultation process with the people of the town, this consultation is needed again”

Text of section of report referred to by Cllr. Callan at meeting;

“the public consultation took place over five days at Drogheda Town Centre from Nov 15th -19th 2004 between 9am and 6pm. Representatives of Drogheda Borough Council were in attendance at the display to assist the public in their consideration of the key issues of the study and to help in completing the questionnaire.

The format of the public display incorporated theme boards that identified specific issues in relation to traffic flow, public transport, parking and pedestrian and cyclist facilities in the town. Attendees were invited to view the boards accompanied by facilitators from Drogheda Borough Council and were then asked to complete a questionnaire in relation to the issues raised. In a significant number of cases the questionnaires were taken away by the public and returned to the Borough Council offices.

The public display attracted a high level of participation from the public and it was successful in terms of raising awareness of the study and identifying issues in relation to the future growth of Drogheda”.

From the study document it is clear to see that people in Drogheda are interested in the issue of traffic management, we need to continually consult with people from residential areas and from the business community to make sure we deal with the issues which are causing difficulties. We have a tourist stategy in place and we need to deal with traffic congestion ahead of the summer to ensure we don’t lose potential visitors to the town.

Notice of Motion

Will this Council consider the formation of a Traffic Management Task Force to deal with the serious issue of traffic congestion in Drogheda.

Will this Council also recognise the results of the recent Tom Tom Satellite Navigation group survey which shows Drogheda to be Irelands most congested town and the sixth worst traffic congested location in Ireland. The results of the research was based on real travel times database, compiled over years of researching and tracking road speeds with the help of millions of satellite navigation users worldwide. Travel information is sent anonymously to the above mentioned organisation every day when its users connect their device to the groups system. The result is realistic travel time information for every five minutes, every day of the week.

In this survey cities and towns are ranked according to how fast cars can travel on the street network. A city’s traffic is defined as congested if drivers can travel at only 70% or less of the posted speed limit, meaning that an hour-long commute would include 20 minutes or more of significant delays.

The percentages refer to the percentage of main roads (4 highest road classes) that experienced congestion as defined above during a day.

The full list of the most congested Irish cities and towns is:

NAME Percentage of congested roads
Galway 37.1%
Dublin 28.6%
Limerick 28.3%
Cork 27.5%
Waterford 19.7%
Drogheda 16.6%
Navan 8.2%
Castlebar 4.8%
Killarney 3.6%
Kildare 1.4%
Donegal 0.4%
Ennis 0.02%

From these figures, will Drogheda Borough Council form a task force comprising the relevant groups and organisations to attempt to improve the issue of traffic congestion.