Sir, - I frequently travel the N11 between Wexford and Dublin, and with others will rejoice when the Arklow bypass is completed. But, despite the prospects of improved motoring, I worry about what might happen to Arklow itself, and to other towns that suddenly find themselves out of the mainstream of traffic.
I come from a small town in the rural US that died after it was bypassed. In fairness, diverting traffic from the town was not the reason for its demise. Rather, zoning decisions that allowed unrestricted business development along the new route were what really sucked the lifeblood of commerce from the town centre. Ironically, now the town is an empty shell and the dual carriageway around it is choked by signal lights at the rate of one every half-mile.
Efficient vehicular travel and vibrant towns are not mutually exclusive. For the sake of existing businesses and residents, I hope that local authority planners in Co Wicklow (and elsewhere) exercise more forethought than their American counterparts did as they set about to manage the land bordering these new ring-roads. My home town was only about 100 years old when it died, and had only a modest history. Irish towns have so much more to lose. - Yours, etc.,
St Ibar's Villas, Wexford.