I believe my submission best relates to the following sections. However, if it’s deemed more appropriate to another section(s), please feel free to reassign.
Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 13 & 14
Sustainability Overview
The growth of housing and enterprise has begun to have negative impacts on the quality of life for Newbridge residents, while everyone welcomes new homes and new jobs the lack of associated infrastructure is now at crisis point.
Future developments in Newbridge must be managed in line with the addition of new schools, gp practices, community childcare, a new bridge/orbital road, youth amenities, a fully inclusive playground and safe cycling infrastructure. The implementation of a special development levy on new Newbridge developments which is ring fenced for the fast tracking of these projects should be considered.
School Places/GPs
The County Development Plan must address the lack of school places at both primary and secondary school level. Also the availability of GPs must be a factor when considering new housing developments. Continuing to allow the town to grow at its current rate without the necessary educational and health services is simply unsustainable. Although these are areas where a CDP can not mandate we should be only approving future developments once the necessary services are in place and available.
Community Childcare
The County Development Plan needs to include provision for local authority community childcare places. Private childcare is out of reach for most families and is a huge impediment to a families upward mobility prospects. Community Childcare places would help so many families and is an area that the Local Authority is best placed to provide as it is aware in advance of all developments in all areas of the county prior to these developments commencing and could ensure adequate community childcare places are provided in conjunction with these developments.
Traffic Management
The continued development of Newbridge with 1000s of new houses and the addition of several new large warehouses has significantly added to the already serious traffic management issues in and around Newbridge town. A new bridge across the river Liffey must be put in place if Newbridge is to be able to maintain the current level of growth. In addition, an orbital road that takes traffic out of the town centre is long overdue for a town the size of Newbridge.
Safe Cycling and Parklet Infrastructure
The implementation of the new cycles lanes/parklets has made using our main street less safe and less accessible to those with disabilities, mobility issues and parents with young children. It has caused an increase in congestion and vehicle emissions on Main Street.
I would submit that the permanent cycle lane scheme planned for Newbridge must consider the reality that the main street is too narrow for cycle lanes on both sides of the street. As an alternative perhaps it should be considered using military road for the cycle path planned from the Curragh Roundabout - Naas. This in conjunction with a cycle lane loop from the Riverbank to Dunnes Stores connecting to the new Curragh Roundabout - Naas would be a suitable alternative. In addition consideration should be given to adding cycling infrastructure on Eyre Street, with both Eyre Street and St Dominics Park becoming one way systems for vehicles would increase available cycling infrastructure while helping to reduce both as 'rat runs' by vehicle drivers trying to avoid the congestion Main Street.
Amenities
Newbridge, with a population moving towards 30000 residents, must be provided with a new, fully inclusive Playground. The promise that this would be funded by Capital funding alone when a mix of both LPT and Capital funding have secured new playgrounds throughout the county is holding the project back. Newbridge also needs a Youth Facility to give teenagers somewhere to go to socialise. Serious consideration should be given to providing a public swimming pool, bmx/quad track ans other amenities for the youth of Newbridge and the surrounding areas.