Kilkenny Inner Relief Road Press Release - Tuesday March 4th 2008

1. Strategic and Operational Objectives.

The Council’s objectives in providing the proposed scheme are as follows:

     

• To build a unified city centre with the River Nore at its heart, with strong connectivity between High Street, The Mart and McDonagh Junction
• Improve access to the city centre and provide for economic and cultural development;
• Reduce the impact of road traffic and private car domination on the city centre; and enable partial pedestrianisation of John’s Street and High Street.
• Improved accessibility for emergency services and access to health facilities and hospitals;
• Make provision for planned residential development on the west side of the city without creating traffic problems in existing residential areas.

It is envisaged that the first two objectives will be achieved by relieving traffic congestion around the city centre and in particular on the existing city centre bridges.
 
The new bridge will enable will enable  increased pedestrianisation in the city centre at John Street and High Street which is what this city needs.

 

2. Agreement with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

As an integral part of the planning of the proposed scheme, Kilkenny Local Authorities undertook a number of consultations with stakeholders and members of the public alike. 

A number of discussions have also taken place with people representing different organisational and voluntary group both at local level in Kilkenny and at National Level.

Following these consultations the scheme as originally designed has now been rationalised and revised to take fully into account the concerns of stakeholders and members of the public.
The most noteworthy changes that have taken place in the design are as follows;

• Avoidance of Garrison House (a building of regional architectural heritage importance) at John’s Green and avoidance of Wolfe tone Street.
• Elimination of proposed link to rear of Irishtown in vicinity of Bull Inn Wall and old city walls.
• Elimination of proposed roundabout at St. Canice’s Place.
• Avoidance of interference with buildings on Vicar Street.

In addition the Council, having listened to the concerns of community groups and other interested parties, proposes to include the following elements as associated parts of the proposed scheme.

• The provision of two new playing pitches on the Tullaroan Road.
• The development of the River Bregagh Linear Park.
• The refurbishment of the historic Greens Bridge, including strengthening, stone replacement and profile lighting.
• The provision of improved pedestrian crossing facilities in Dean Street.
• the inclusion of heritage “points of interest” on the new road most notably those opening up new views and vantage points of “Evans Turret”, “St. Francis Abbey”, the “Bull Inn Wall” and the old river mill.

 

Recent discussions with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government at both senior administrative and archaeological level have yielded a very positive response to the scheme changes. The Department has no objections to the proposed scheme.

Discussions are on going with heritage groups and the Council wishes to acknowledge the constructive dialogue which is on going at present and which is not complete. Further discussions will take place in the coming weeks.

3. Current Deficiencies in Kilkenny City Road Network

The two existing bridges across the River Nore in the city centre are narrow in comparison to current standards and limit the traffic flows across the river. A new bridge crossing in the vicinity of the city centre is considered an essential part of any plan to redress this.

Greens Bridge is a multiple stone arch bridge dating back to the 18th century.  It carries a road that is approximately 5m wide and was modified in 1969 to incorporate a 1.5m footpath cantilevered from the north side.  The bridge crosses the river perpendicularly on a crest curve that limits forward visibility and restricts free flow of traffic. For example, two trucks cannot pass on the bridge and emergency vehicles travelling to and from the county’s main hospital frequently find their way obstructed.  The Council plans to restore this bridge and ban HGV’s.

Johns Bridge is slightly wider than Greens Bridge and was more recently constructed in 1910.  It is constructed in reinforced concrete in a single span that is approximately perpendicular to the line of the river.  The road is 6.6m wide across it with 1.5m wide footpaths on either side.  However, the approach from John’s Street is narrower with a slight bend just at east end of the bridge.  The road narrows at this location to 5.4m wide.  Traffic may be further impeded by the T- junction on either end where Batemans Quay and Johns Quay connect on the north side.

Both bridges are in need of repair and in the event of prolonged closure would present major difficulties for traffic flow and business in the City.

A new link to the west of the city is also urgently required to take traffic away from the residential areas around Stephen Street, Dominic Street, St. Rioch’s Street and Old Callan Road. This link will also connect with the western environs road development scheme which on completion will provide relief to communities along congested roads in the western side of the city.

 

 

National Spatial Strategy, 2002- 2020

The National Spatial Strategy (NSS), 2002-2020 sets out a twenty year planning framework for Ireland with the aim of strengthening economic and social functions for strong and sustainable progress. Within the NSS, Kilkenny City has been designated a ‘Regional Hub’, reaching a population of 30,000 or more, with national roads converging in Kilkenny from Cork, Waterford and Dublin. A ‘Hub’ is defined within the NSS as an area into which future development will be directed and facilitated. Together with Waterford and Wexford, Kilkenny will form a nationally strategic ‘growth triangle’ which will drive regional growth by providing a large and skilled population base, substantial capacity for additional residential and employment related functions, and an improving transport network. Kilkenny City and Environs is identified within the NSS as the largest urban growth centre within the south east, and growth and development is expected to continue into the future.

In order to meet this anticipated growth it is necessary that Kilkenny will in future have sufficient infrastructural capacity to cater sufficiently for an expanded city. The proposed Kilkenny Inner Relief Road, inter alia, will be an integral part of the new infrastructural requirements.

 

4. Description of the proposed Kilkenny Inner Relief Road.

The proposed Kilkenny Inner Relief Road comprises 4.5 kilometres of single carriageway road 7.3 metres wide with provisions for footpaths and cycle lanes throughout. Its various components comprise sections of new road, improvement of existing roads and junctions, and a proposed new River Nore bridge crossing. The proposed road commences within the Kilkenny Western Environs at the Kilmanagh Road and will pass northwards through a roundabout in the townsland of Kilcreene. From Kilcreene, the proposed KIRR will extend north eastwards to the Waterbarrack roundabout and along the existing Dean Street to St Canice’s Place.

Dean Street will be physically unaffected by the scheme except for the improvement of pedestrian crossings and cycling facilities.

The proposed street will then extend in an easterly direction through the Smithwicks Brewery site to cross the River Nore between Green’s Bridge and John’s Bridge in close proximity to the James Stephens swimming pool. The proposed River Nore bridge crossing will be approximately 60m – 70m in length from bank to bank and will take the form of a modern cable stay bridge. East of the River, the proposed new street will continue eastwards past Wolf Tone Street and will terminate at the Castlecomer Road.

In addition, from the roundabout at Kilcreene, the proposed KIRR will also extend northwards to a roundabout at Bonnetstown Road. From Bonnetstown Road, the proposed new roadway will run northwest through Lough Macask townland and will veer east to connect to the Dunningston Road and terminate on the Freshford Road.

The line and route of the proposed scheme are presented on the drawing shown below.

5. A positive contribution to Mobility Management in Kilkenny.

The proposed road development will have footpaths and cycle lanes along its entire length. These have been designed to interlink with the proposed footpath and cycle lane network for Kilkenny City, as outlined in the City Centre Local Area Plan. Therefore, it is considered that the proposed road development will improve access within Kilkenny City for pedestrians and cyclists. Furthermore the proposed River Nore bridge crossing will serve to increase the connectivity between communities on Wolfe Tone St./ Michael St. and those near Dean St. and further to the west. The proposed road development will also have a positive impact as it will serve to reduce traffic volumes from existing residential settlements within Kilkenny City Centre.

Overall the journey times of those living and working within Kilkenny City will decrease as a result of the proposed road development.

The road scheme on completion will permit alternatives to private car transport to be implemented in the city. Removing the current volumes of traffic from the core city centre streets can only be achieved through the promotion of cycle routes, the promotion of walking through improved pedestrian areas (for example John Street and High Street) and reliable public transport in the form of a city centre bus service. The proposed road development provides more flexibility and greater opportunities to provide these alternatives.

 

6. Congestion and  Traffic Growth

The Kilkenny Local Authorities can demonstrate that traffic problems in Kilkenny derive mainly from the 90% of total trips which are internally generated. Mean vehicle speeds have been measured at 3km/hr on some approaches to and through the city. Without underestimating the role of public transport, cycling or walking their effect in reducing traffic is likely to be modest relative to the scale of the current problem. Recent traffic studies explain that most trips have no option but to use private transport.  Therefore, from a planning viewpoint, it is assumed that these trips will remain on the roads as the city is not large enough to attract funding for mass public transit systems.

The Council has commissioned reports indicating that significant levels of traffic growth will occur in the period up to 2014 and 2020.  This growth will results from three distinct elements:
 

• Firstly, there will be an increase in global or background traffic that occurs from changes in socio-economic indicators, such as population and employment levels and car ownership. 
• Secondly, there will be traffic growth resulting from an intensification of existing development within Kilkenny and
• Thirdly, there will be traffic growth resulting from the significant amount of new development that is proposed for Kilkenny in the immediate future.

Using a combination of growth factors supplied by the National Roads Authority, together with trip generation calculations for new development proposals, it has been estimated that traffic growth rates will be 57% and 80% over the periods to 2014 and 2020 respectively in comparison to the reference year of 2002.

The new N10-N77 Ring Road Extension has helped to reduce congestion on some city roads but significant congestion still occurs in the city centre, notably New Road, John Street and Old Callan Road.

The implementation of the proposed Inner Relief Road will significantly reduce the level of city centre congestion.  In addition the development of many city centre sites with potential business, commercial and cultural potential is not considered to be sustainable without the Inner Relief Road being in place. The position is similar in relation to the development of the western environs of the city.

 

7. Scheme Planning, Design and Development.

Over the past 18 months the Council has advanced the following elements of the scheme.

• Constraints and Route Options Report was completed in December 2006 and detailed various options considered for both the proposed road and bridge location. 
• A traffic study using up to date information gathered in November 2006 was completed.  This enables the Council to examine and test numerous options for route selection and traffic management planning.
• A cost benefit analysis of all aspects of the proposed road development has been undertaken.
• An Environmental Impact Statement has been completed and is scheduled to be published and submitted to An Bord Pleanala for approval in April 2008.

The Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared as a statutory response to relevant Irish Regulations governing projects of this nature.  The statement addresses in detail and in a robust manner many impacts of the proposed road scheme.

These include impacts on human beings, flora and fauna, aquatic flora and fauna, soil geology and groundwater, surface water, air quality and climate, noise and vibration, landscape and visual, cultural heritage, archaeology of built heritage and sets out positive and negative impacts of the proposed scheme.

 

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