Leixlip chat

buffalo

FitzElla wrote: »

That's interesting thanks for sharing. I'm not sure the way the road sweeps down off the M4 bridge at that point would make for a great junction but it certainly would help stop cars using Castletown housing estate as a rat run.

I don't understand this approach. If the problem is people using Castletown as a rat run, why not block through access in Castletown?

FitzElla

buffalo wrote: »

I don't understand this approach. If the problem is people using Castletown as a rat run, why not block through access in Castletown?

Fair point. I don't live in Castletown so don't want to speak for the residents there, but maybe they want to keep the access open?

I think the new proposed link to the M4 should be a requirement if the HP campus is developed as planned to avoid having HGV or commercial traffic going through the town. Reducing the traffic through Castletown would just be a bonus in my eyes.

Rosahane

buffalo wrote: »

I don't understand this approach. If the problem is people using Castletown as a rat run, why not block through access in Castletown?

The problem is that it's a route to the schools, shops and sports clubs in both directions and to the train also. Blocking through access would mean all traffic would have to go in and out on to the Station Road.

Stealthirl

I made that suggestion to a few councilors over the years, it was ridiculous having a road only running into HP, it should have been a through road from the start.

buffalo

Rosahane wrote: »

The problem is that it's a route to the schools, shops and sports clubs in both directions and to the train also. Blocking through access would mean all traffic would have to go in and out on to the Station Road.

They sound like mostly short journeys, that should be encouraged to be done by foot or bike?

A long trip using that route would be from Elton Court to the Amenities is a 1.7k walk, which most people could cover in 20-25mins.

If carrying a lot of equipment, doing a big shop in Lidl or for drivers with disabilities, the same journey of 2.3k would become 2.6k. Not really a hardship?

Rosahane

buffalo wrote: »

They sound like mostly short journeys, that should be encouraged to be done by foot or bike?

A long trip using that route would be from Elton Court to the Amenities is a 1.7k walk, which most people could cover in 20-25mins.

If carrying a lot of equipment, doing a big shop in Lidl or for drivers with disabilities, the same journey of 2.3k would become 2.6k. Not really a hardship?

I think there was a proposal to close off through traffic in Castletown many years ago which got little or no support - including from the people in Castletown!

2011abc

buffalo wrote: »

I was thinking something similar while in the village yesterday, as a double decker bus flew past me while I was standing on the particularly narrow stretch of footpath between the Courtyard and Bernard Owens. .

That is an unbelievably dangerous spot alright .I remember standing there one Summer's afternoon as an unmarked Garda car drove at high speed (blue lights flashing)the entire length of Main St on 'wrong side of the road' from current Aldi location to traffic lights at high speed.I pressed behind in against that wall fairly hard I can tell ya .

Stealthirl

Planning in to develop apartments and shops on main St opposite The Town
https://www.kildarenow.com/news/home/595398/kildare-planning-go-ahead-for-historic-leixlip-house-development.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Planning number is 191433
http://webgeo.kildarecoco.ie/public/planningsearch/171

FitzElla

Stealthirl wrote: »

Planning in to develop apartments and shops on main St opposite The Town
https://www.kildarenow.com/news/home/595398/kildare-planning-go-ahead-for-historic-leixlip-house-development.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Planning number is 191433
http://webgeo.kildarecoco.ie/public/planningsearch/171

No car parking spaces provided for in the development at all. Council were happy to ignore this on the basis the apartments are well served by public transport and located centrally. I think not even having a loading bay or space for a bin truck to pull in will be an issue with traffic given how crowded main street is already.

buffalo

Looking forward to getting a bit of exercise to Maynooth for a lazy breakfast of a Sunday morning!

https://twitter.com/dublingalwaygw/status/1370354945661276164

CiaranW

That's excellent news.

Davexirl

buffalo wrote: »

Looking forward to getting a bit of exercise to Maynooth for a lazy breakfast of a Sunday morning!

https://twitter.com/dublingalwaygw/status/1370354945661276164

Thanks for sharing, I am delighted to hear this news.

buffalo

Some planning applications that might be of interest...

21644 to change the old Palua boutique in the mall into a cafe - be nice for a bit of extra life in the village, once we're allowed sit indoors again!

And two medium sized developments: 21655 is for 57 units in the field behind Hillford House on Station Road. 21732 is for 65 units in the field between the Kilmacredock roundabout and Westfield estate, including a 5 storey apartment block (probably to go beside the one in progress in Westfield?).

Both of those under the 70 unit threshold where developer is required to build a creche, yet together over 120 units with no extra childcare provided. And I see childcare was front page of the Champion this week!

2011abc

‘Units’ and ‘housing’ all the talk lately .Doesn’t seem that long ago that people lived in houses .Amount of apartment blocks being built ( and tired old terraced houses being turned into multiple ‘units’ )staggering God help our kids .

jorry

buffalo wrote: »

Some planning applications that might be of interest...

21644 to change the old Palua boutique in the mall into a cafe - be nice for a bit of extra life in the village, once we're allowed sit indoors again!

And two medium sized developments: 21655 is for 57 units in the field behind Hillford House on Station Road. 21732 is for 65 units in the field between the Kilmacredock roundabout and Westfield estate, including a 5 storey apartment block (probably to go beside the one in progress in Westfield?).

Both of those under the 70 unit threshold where developer is required to build a creche, yet together over 120 units with no extra childcare provided. And I see childcare was front page of the Champion this week!

Does planning notice for Kilmacredock not pitch 5 storey block somewhere within said corner field site. I hope finished, site will be asthetecally pleasing given this being a gateway site to Easton road.
The over allocation of bike spots to car spaces is to appease planning surely??

Seth Brundle

jorry wrote: »

The over allocation of bike spots to car spaces is to appease planning surely??

I presume that it is because to include more car park spaces would result in less land for apartments and therefore each apartment would have a higher price.

Flibble

There's a new coffee shop opening next week in the Leixlip Amenities centre, they have an outdoor seating area being built and I believe will be doing salads/ sandwiches/ baked goods.

The businesses inside the centre now include a coffee shop, physiotherapist, acupuncturist, sports massage therapist & hair dresser- it's a bit of a hidden gem!!

buffalo

jorry wrote: »

Does planning notice for Kilmacredock not pitch 5 storey block somewhere within said corner field site.

There's one 5 storey block just getting started in Westfield (foundations being laid this week) right beside the corner field, and this application is for a second one.

I presume they'll sit next to each other, as the only other logical spot would be right beside the roundabout which would cast a shadow over most of the development in the evening if I've got the orientation right. Anywhere else would surely have to overlook other properties and devalue them, meaning less profit.

FitzElla

buffalo wrote: »

There's one 5 storey block just getting started in Westfield (foundations being laid this week) right beside the corner field, and this application is for a second one.

I presume they'll sit next to each other, as the only other logical spot would be right beside the roundabout which would cast a shadow over most of the development in the evening if I've got the orientation right. Anywhere else would surely have to overlook other properties and devalue them, meaning less profit.

Will this new development be part of Westfield given it is the same developer or will they give it a new estate name?

Personally I think 5 story apartment blocks on the absolute edge of town are an over development, especially considering the other new development going across the road at Leixlip Gate. Asides from a small Spar you are at least a 20-30 minutes walk from anything else: shops, cafes, pubs, schools, parks, train station. Lots more cars on the road who will continue to ignore Leixlip village given the parking there.

n97 mini

Anyone know what the story is with the bollards that were put at the bottom of Captain's Hill in February?

FitzElla

n97 mini wrote: »

Anyone know what the story is with the bollards that were put at the bottom of Captain's Hill in February?

The Council were (are?) going to make it a "parklet" for outdoor dining or for the café but then ended up moving the bollards a 2nd time because they were in the way of the disabled parking bay. Not sure what is happening with it now.

n97 mini

FitzElla wrote: »

The Council were (are?) going to make it a "parklet" for outdoor dining or for the café but then ended up moving the bollards a 2nd time because they were in the way of the disabled parking bay. Not sure what is happening with it now.

Yeah, Cllr Bernard Caldwell said about the seating back in February. I asked him recently for an update. No reply.

buffalo

n97 mini wrote: »

Anyone know what the story is with the bollards that were put at the bottom of Captain's Hill in February?

I think it was closed off last year by someone in the council for a parklet, but in the March MD meeting this year:

[the] Public Realm team are not aware of parking spaces already being reserved for use

🤦*♂️

The most recent meeting in May didn't exactly fill me with confidence that it'll be ready for our 'outdoor summer':

The Municipal District Engineer visited both towns with the public realm team to review what measures could be taken to assist. The public realm team are in the process of procuring street furniture/parklets for the areas identified and the municipal district office will assist with installation. Due to the high demand nationally, procuring items is proving more difficult than anticipated.

(from https://kildare.ie/CountyCouncil/YourCouncil/YourElectedCouncil/MunicipalDistricts/Celbridge-LeixlipMunicipalDistrict/CurrentMeetings/Minutes/)

L1011

Those bollards are the same as were installed in Maynooth for general footpath widening, not outdoor dining parklets. The path is very very narrow there isn't it?

buffalo

L1011 wrote: »

Those bollards are the same as were installed in Maynooth for general footpath widening, not outdoor dining parklets. The path is very very narrow there isn't it?

I wouldn't have said it's particularly narrow. The reserved area is two spaces long, with the disabled parking moved up the hill to outside what was Feerick's. The path gradually gets narrower as it goes up the hill but there's no other widening measures, despite four spaces there and plenty of capacity for parking across the road. Parklets there would be on a much greater incline, so makes sense to have it closer to the junction (not a great idea to move the disabled parking to a greater slope though).

Any MD meetings I've watched or read referred to it as a parklet, and there was even a discussion about the fairness of the location so it wouldn't give too much of an advantage to either of the coffee places in the village. That might all be down to a misconception by the councillors of course.

n97 mini

L1011 wrote: »

Those bollards are the same as were installed in Maynooth for general footpath widening, not outdoor dining parklets. The path is very very narrow there isn't it?

According to Bernard Caldwell last February they were installed to cordon off an area for outdoor seating. The coffee shop on the other side of the junction has pallets put out for people to sit on, but there is demand for a lot more.

n97 mini

buffalo wrote: »

(from https://kildare.ie/CountyCouncil/YourCouncil/YourElectedCouncil/MunicipalDistricts/Celbridge-LeixlipMunicipalDistrict/CurrentMeetings/Minutes/

Reading the minutes of 16/04/2021 I note:

The following issues were also raised by the members;
• There were no parking spaces that could be removed, in Celbridge or Leixlip
to facilitate this type of dining furniture.

Surely this is a mistake? Celbridge Main St is incredibly wide with parking on both sides. Additionally there's the above mentioned space already taken over in Leixlip.

This photo is from Dungarvan last weekend, where the street is nowhere near as wide as in Celbridge.

buffalo

n97 mini wrote: »

Surely this is a mistake? Celbridge Main St is incredibly wide with parking on both sides. Additionally there's the above mentioned space already taken over in Leixlip.

This was not a 'this is not technically possible' statement from the council executive, but rather an objection from council members (Cllrs Caldwell and Coleman IIRC) that removing any parking from the main streets would result in the death of the villages as we know them (or words to that effect).

It's not as if Leixlip has a council car park with spaces that abut the river bank walk or anything.

L1011

n97 mini wrote: »

According to Bernard Caldwell last February they were installed to cordon off an area for outdoor seating. The coffee shop on the other side of the junction has pallets put out for people to sit on, but there is demand for a lot more.

Caldwell can't always remember if he's in FF or not at a given time; I wouldn't trust his assessment.

They would not have removed a disabled space for outdoor seating, not in a million years - its going to have been because the path is too narrow for people to pass. Which admittedly it is the entire way up!

n97 mini

L1011 wrote: »

Caldwell can't always remember if he's in FF or not at a given time; I wouldn't trust his assessment.

:D:D

L1011 wrote: »

They would not have removed a disabled space for outdoor seating, not in a million years - its going to have been because the path is too narrow for people to pass. Which admittedly it is the entire way up!

From his partner in crime. She stepped in after he got a lot of flak over the location because of lack of consultation. Arguments also made included being gassed by traffic and the carpark beside the river (behind Spar) being a much better location.