'The bypass go-ahead is the best news Slane has had in a long time'

The sheer relief of knowing an end is in sight to endless lines of heavy traffic ploughing through Slane every day was palpable among local residents his week.

Following the decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant planning permission for the Slane Bypass and Public Realm project, local residents were happily looking forward to a much safer Slane, a cleaner village and a quieter place to live.

The horror of the many accidents in which lives were lost, the pollution and the noise from the constant traffic are among the issues local residents are hoping will come to an end when the new bypass is built. The proje

ct includes a 3.5km dual carriageway around Slane with a combined footway/cycleway, a 258-metre-long bridge over the River Boyne, and a number of public realm enhancements within Slane village.

The scheme also includes improved traffic management measures and works on the N51 between the proposed bypass and the centre of the village. Slane residents have lived with the trauma of horrific crashes happening on their doorsteps for many years - the 23 white crosses on the bridge is testament to that.

Local businessman, Brian Kelly, was just 11 when he witnessed a devastating accident just outside the mill.

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“I had learned to swim in the Boyne and was walking up the hill when I saw a car collide with a truck and burst into flames. The people in the car hadn't a chance. It was horrific and it had a lasting impact on me.

“I also remember the crane that was on the bridge to take a truck from the river. It toppled in, killing the crane operator.”

“Just one day last week, I was at the traffic lights, waiting for the filter light so I could turn right and a truck swung by me and I thought it wasn't going to make it round me.

“They have been talking about the bypass since I was a child, it has been a long time in the pipeline.

“Unfortunately 23 people lost their lives. There hasn't been a fatality in quite a while since traffic calming measures were installed, but people in Slane are still living in fear.

“Kids are still going to and from school on the main road. All it takes is just one error, mechanical failure of brakes and we could have another disaster. This is why the bypass is so important.”

Local artist, Pat Doyle, says Slane is destroyed by the sheer volume of traffic going through the village, both north-south and east-west traffic.

“A very high proportion of that traffic are commercial trucks and vans. This noise and pollution destroys the ambience of our 270 year old heritage village.

“At the moment there is a lack of parking in Slane, which will be rectified by the new public realm plan and the provision of a carpark and community garden in the grounds of the old Clonkeenan Stud, which the council recently acquired.

“It will alleviate the terrible danger from traffic. Just beside where I live there are 100 new houses with new families. The local primary schools exits onto the N2.

“The traffic is absolutely deadly, vehicles accelerate away from the traffic lights at the Square.”

Pat, who runs an arts studio close to the Square on the N51, said the bypass is welcome in that it will make Slane a better place to live and work.

NOW READ: What is the timeline for construction of Slane Bypass?

“What we need to do now, is start planning the east west bypass,” he said.

Colette McDonnell, secretary of Slane Forum said the bypass would make a huge change for the better in Slane. “It will be so much safer for children going to school and people going shopping. The traffic is mental at the moment, this is the best news we have had in a long time.

“It will be a huge benefit to the community and the safety of children and people who have to use the road to get in and out of work.”

“As a native of Slane, I remember all those dreadful accidents. When you think of all the people who lost their lives, it will be a big comfort to their families to know that it cannot happen again.

“I remember when I first started driving, there was no traffic calming. You could actually meet an oncoming traffic on the bridge. As a teenager I used to cycle on that road.”

“There will be so many other benefits as it will take so much traffic away from Slane.

“There may be fears about the impact on business, but I believe it will encourage people to come into Slane for food and fuel. I believe it is a positive thing.”

Michele Power of the Bypass Slane Committee was one of those involved in a terrifying crash in the village in 2009, which saw the campaign for a bypass ramped up yet again.

“I had dropped my two children off at school and I had my baby in the car.

“I was stopped at the red light at the junction, in the right lane, when I heard a couple of bangs and then I could see what was happening

“A truck's brakes had failed, it ploughed into another truck to stop going further, the second truck came sideways pushing all the cars waiting at the lights.

“I jumped out of the car and grabbed the baby. It was a miracle nobody was killed. One of my friends was in another car. She had to crawl out her back window. One lady was badly injured.”

She said the most important thing was that it will take heavy, dangerous traffic out of the village and it will be a much safer place for the people who live in and travel through Slane.

“It will have a very positive effect. At the moment, traffic driving through the village doesn't stop, because it is so dangerous, there is no safe place to park and the public realm plan has parking stitched into it.

“Slane will be a lovely place to walk around. Taking the traffic out of the village and the public realm works will transform the Slane. At the moment it is very noisy and you get the back-draught from tucks into your face if you are walking in the village.

“Up to now, we have been told that if planning permission in place, money wouldn't be a problem, so it is important that they get on with it now,” she said.

Paul Ahearne, the chairman of Slane Tidy Towns said the bypass will make a huge difference to the village as a whole and to the Tidy Towns Committee.

“At the moment it is getting dangerous for our volunteers to do their work, with the cars speeding through the centre of the village.

“There are a few of us that do a litter pick on the approach roads and the amount of litter we encounter that has been thrown from cars is unbelievable. On two weekends we filled 55 industrial refuse sacks.”

He said that sometimes the Tidy Town volunteers have been out cleaning up and the village is looking really well, a then a heavy vehicle such as a tractor with a load of hay or a truck with hard core aggregate sheds some of its load and it is a mess again.

“When the community forum meets in the evenings, we can hardly hear, we have to shout at each other, the noise inside the hall is so loud from passing traffic. The bypass will make a huge difference to simple things like this,” he said.

The public realm plan includes a design to emphasise the approach to the village, bespoke landscaping, additional signage, and a 60km/h speed limit.

It also includes a reconfigured junction at the Square incorporating the removal of traffic lights and slip lanes, in addition to traffic calming and signalised pedestrian crossings in the village.

A HGV 3-axle ban on the existing N2 within the village means HGV’s will need to use the bypass, while other planned works includes a new off-street carpark which will be connected to the village via pedestrian and cyclist links, the removal of existing gantries at Mill Hill and other landscaping, urban design, and street scaping measures.