Social Democrats TD for Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore and local Cllr Jodie Neary, of Greystones District, have called on Wicklow County Council and ARUP to arrange an online public meeting to address residents’ concerns regarding the proposed new route along the N11 including several road closures.
The representatives have written to the Council and ARUP calling for a public meeting to be organised online as part of its current public consultation process, so that residents have a chance to address specific aspects of the proposal including various road closures. The public consultation will run until 20th September.
Deputy Whitmore says, “this proposal is obviously raising many concerns for constituents in the area especially the potential road closures that will really affect people on a local level. People feel side-lined and have many questions as to why this was the decision made by Arup and how this will impact on road congestion in the local area.
“I’ve been getting a lot of feedback from the public on this saying they are having difficulties access the online portal, they find it hard to arrange for a one-to-one consultation, that it’s not very clear what’s being proposed, and the very short time frame given the fact that this is such a huge proposal, with the potential to impact considerably on a large number of residents along the N11.
“It’s really important that locals have an opportunity to look at this in more detail which is why we believe that an online public consultation should be established with engineers and planners there to address residents’ specific questions and concerns. We have requested that this happen with Arup so people can be fully informed and questions answered about local traffic concerns, however we have not heard back from them on this at the time of writing.
Also calling for a public meeting, Cllr Jodie Neary said, “I, like many local residents in Delgany are concerned over the proposed closure of the N11 exit at Delgany/Drummin. The future of the Delgany exit will be critical to the success of this N11 upgrade scheme, and it’s important we get it right for locals. To do this, we need an online public meeting so residents can ask those important questions and understand how the Delgany road closure will impact on their everyday life.
“With new housing developments coming along, traffic is the number one concern for people living in Delgany as it affects all aspects of life, commuting, school drop offs, local businesses and overall quality of life. Locals need to have their say directly with the organisers of this project but the current online portal does not currently allow for this. Direct consultation is need and so we are asking for a public meeting to be arranged in advance of the public consultation deadline” concludes Cllr Neary.
