The council and board of CIE have reached an agreement that could possibly see the long running Railway Field saga come to a conclusion.
The Railway Field Road, which would run from the Crescent junction to St Vincent’s Care Centre, is regarded by the council as an essential element in future traffic management plans for the town, particularly in the context of the installation of a one-way system on Church Street.
The issue has dragged on for more than a decade. An original proposal, which was approved way back in 2004, was for a link road extending from the Coosan Point Road/Station Road junction directly through the CIE lands to the Crescent junction. However, this plan ran into trouble after talks between the council and CIE broke down.
The issue has seen little progress since then. However, as of late, the council’s Director of Services, Barry Kehoe, and local representatives have been pushing hard to make progress.
The final piece of the puzzle in terms of satisfying the needs of CIE concerned where Bus Éireann buses will park in the vicinity of the proposed Railway Field Road development. An agreement on this issue was reached with the board of the company last week. The details of the agreement will now be tied into the road construction contract.
The council has also received a letter from CIE detailing the terms under which they are getting access to the field. A response to that letter is in the offing, which will come before the board of CIE for approval. The council will then look for funding for the works in 2018, which should take less than 12 months to complete.
