Narrowing road at cemetery is utter madness

PLEASE DON’T presume that I am becoming a crotchy auld fella … some would say I have always been like that, but in all sincerity, I have another gripe and that is the work currently underway around St Mary’s Cemetery.

I know there is a drive, excuse the pun, to generate space on our roads for cyclists – and they deserve to be treated with respect – but all I see at the moment, and not just in Carlow, is cyclists getting priority over motorists.

No doubt this sentiment will cause the hairs on the back of the neck of cyclists to stick out, but tell me I’m wrong? Roads and footpaths can be redesigned to accommodate everyone, but some roads cannot be redesigned. With the best will in the world, the simple fact of the matter is that our roads are not wide enough to facilitate the pro-cyclist lobby.

Yes, there is a need to cut down on fossil fuels; yes, there is global warming; and yes, there are far too many cars on our roads, but in truth, we don’t have an adequate public transport system in towns and villages, or even cities for that matter, to carry the load if we opt for alternative means of transport.

But back to matters local because, at the end of the day, that’s all I am interested in discussing now, and more specifically what’s happening along the Old Dublin Road.

For several weeks now, works have been taking place around St Mary’s Cemetery. What I commonly hear from people is ‘what are the council at’, because as far as they can see, all that is happening is that footpaths were being widened.

Was it extra parking space around the cemetery? one person asked me in bewilderment, because if that was the case, it was money badly spent. We all know that people park on the footpaths whenever there is a funeral, but no-one objects because most funerals only last about an hour.

As far as I can ascertain, the works will provide walking and cycle lanes and this is proposed to continue down towards the town.

What you will see is a one-way system outside St Laserian’s School, where the pedestrian crossing is currently located. This will mean that traffic coming out of the town towards the railway bridge will be met with a red light. Put simply, there will only be one lane for traffic to either head out or into town at any one time.

I’m sorry, but while that may sound like no big deal, I can see utter chaos when this alteration comes into effect. Think about it for a minute. Forty to 50 buses arrive at St Laserian’s at the same time every morning and evening, not to mention the fact that next door is the Sacred Heart Hospital.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the road also serves schools such as Bishop Foley, St Leo’s, St Mary’s Academy, St Catherine’s, St Joseph’s, Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, the entrance to Visual and the train station.

Oh, there is also the fact that the Dublin Road is also used for all funerals from the cathedral and St Clare’s church in Graiguecullen, and as everyone knows, that means a cortège of walkers and cars to St Mary’s.

I understand the residents of Heatherfield Court are not too happy with the proposal either, as their entrance is being altered, and as far as they are concerned, those changes will make it extremely difficult to enter and exit the estate.

I am all for improvement, but can someone please tell me this is going to improve matters along the Dublin Road? If anyone needed confirmation about the utter chaos this proposal will cause, all they have to do is cast their minds back to the cemetery Masses of yesteryear, when impromptu parking on both sides of the road down to the Station Road roundabout reduced the Dublin Road to single-lane traffic. Disaster.

Can you just imagine what motorists will think if they have to face that chaos on a daily basis – all because of someone, somewhere believes a cycle lane in that part of the town is a must?

Again, this is not a slight on cyclists. They deserve to be treated respectfully, but let’s show a little common sense here. On a wet winter’s day, what do you think motorists trying to get to work, bus drivers trying to get children to school, or parents who believe there is only one place to drop off their kids – and that is right in front of the school entrance – will think of these new changes? Correct, utter madness.

As to the cost of all this work, you know what they say: it’s always easy to spend other people’s money.