Sir, – Frank McDonald’s report on the potential damage to the heritage and architectural integrity of Kilkenny City would not have been out of place in your newspaper six or seven years ago (“Demolition of houses will ‘seriously injure’ Kilkenny’s historical integrity”, Home News, July 9th) . For it to be highlighted in 2013, given the lessons we should have learned in those intervening years, is shocking. The Central Access Scheme, or inner relief road, is a dinosaur of a project; a “systems” project that has been so embedded in Kilkenny County Council’s plans and policies for three decades that the local authority simply cannot contemplate life without it.
Yet the project has been severely compromised by removal of sections due to heritage concerns (as highlighted in the report) and by the refusal by An Bord Pleanála in 2009 of two connecting spurs of the road which might have diverted large volumes of heavy goods vehicles and through traffic from residential areas and creaking infrastructure connected by a single-span bridge into the city.
What is clear in my view is that the primary objective of the scheme now is to open up a brownfield site (former mart site) for retail development. The scheme serves no traffic management purposes whatsoever and in fact may exacerbate traffic congestion at key points in the city.
A clear alternative exists for Kilkenny: completion of the northern ring road. This would create a closed loop around the city, allowing agricultural and haulage contractors free movement to their destinations and allowing the city to expand sustainably within a defined boundary. It would improve the quality of life of residents currently affected by the noise, emissions and danger associated with HGV traffic.
Kilkenny Borough Council has made significant strides in facilitating the modal shift from private car travel towards cycling and walking. Facilitating that modal shift, introducing a small electric shuttle bus service, pedestrianisation of the city centre supported by a network of park and ride/park and stride options could give Kilkenny a competitive edge for inward investment and allow its cultural and heritage tourism to flourish. – Yours, etc,
Cllr MALCOLM NOONAN,
Kilkenny Borough Council,
Fr Murphy Square,
Kilkenny.