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New N4 Road

KAGY

Hi fellow Longford people,

I'm not sure how aware you are of the proposed new road between Mullingar and Roosky. There are three proposed routes and all three routes by-pass Edgeworthstown - one to the north of the town (near the national school) and the others to the south. Essentially, there will be a by-pass of a by-pass.

This new road, whatever route it takes will destroy the rural life of many townlands in and around Edgeworthstown and it will cut off people from their families and friends. People living along the whole route will be affected but as I and my family live around Edgeworthstown, this is the area I am most concerned about.

There seems to be little awareness of the routes of the proposed road. The Longford Leader certainly haven't bothered much with it - too busy placing adverts in the paper to be bothered with real issues that will potentially affect hundreds of Longford people.

If you are interested in viewing the maps of the proposed routes they can be viewed on the website of Longford COunty Council - the home page has a link. You have until Oct 10 th to get comments in.
http://www.longfordcoco.ie/coco_content.aspx?id=14030
This new road is un-necessary. The NRA should save tax payers money by upgrading the existing road into a 2 + 1 system as was orginally planned. Rathowen, Ballinalack and Newtownforbes should be by-passed as necessary. The exisitng Edgeworthstown and Longford by-passes should be utilised and the rail line should be upgraded in to a dual line. These options are more economical and more sustainable.

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Occidental

Have they actually got the money for this, or is it just a pipe dream. I'd have thought an N5 bypass of Longford Town would be a much bigger priority.

orbital83

This new road is un-necessary. The NRA should save tax payers money

The new road IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY - the existing road is too congested and dangerous - with the number of HGVs using it and the amount of overtaking that results.

Having a single carriageway as the main arterial route serving Longford, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Mayo is NOT a satisfactory situation.

Yes, local people will be disadvantaged but that is the price of progress.
Edgeworthstown won't be the first place affected and it won't be the last. Excessive pandering to local interests isn't an option if Ireland wants to move ahead and compete with the rest of the world.

Imagine life without the M50, M4, M1, etc. None of these would be there if we pandered to local interests.
One must weigh up the local impacts against the lives that will be saved by the new road plus the reduction in journey time, quality of life for road users, economic benefits and increased efficiency / competitiveness of the country as a whole.

In any case, while we're speaking of local interests - how about the people of Rathowen and Ballinalack, who'll finally get their village back when the new road is built? How about the people with houses along the current corridor, enduring constant cars flying past their house at 100km/h and often much higher speeds? How about those down side lanes who can't get onto the N4 on Friday and Sundays due to the traffic? Some win some lose - that's life. Many will get fat cheques for their trouble

The NRA have abandoned the 2+1 concept due to safety concerns I believe - Dromod Rooskey was originally planned as 2+1. In any case, reworking the original road would cause chaos, probably cost more and we'd be left with a botch job and end up building a proper road in 10 year's time anyway.

Of course, with the country's finances going down the tube, all of this probably won't happen and we'll continue risking our lives on the existing N4 Longford-Mullingar.

MDFM

John J wrote: »

The new road IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY - the existing road is too congested and dangerous - with the number of HGVs using it and the amount of overtaking that results.

Having a single carriageway as the main arterial route serving Longford, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Mayo is NOT a satisfactory situation.

Yes, local people will be disadvantaged but that is the price of progress.
Edgeworthstown won't be the first place affected and it won't be the last. Excessive pandering to local interests isn't an option if Ireland wants to move ahead and compete with the rest of the world.

Imagine life without the M50, M4, M1, etc. None of these would be there if we pandered to local interests.
One must weigh up the local impacts against the lives that will be saved by the new road plus the reduction in journey time, quality of life for road users, economic benefits and increased efficiency / competitiveness of the country as a whole.

In any case, while we're speaking of local interests - how about the people of Rathowen and Ballinalack, who'll finally get their village back when the new road is built? How about the people with houses along the current corridor, enduring constant cars flying past their house at 100km/h and often much higher speeds? How about those down side lanes who can't get onto the N4 on Friday and Sundays due to the traffic? Some win some lose - that's life. Many will get fat cheques for their trouble

The NRA have abandoned the 2+1 concept due to safety concerns I believe - Dromod Rooskey was originally planned as 2+1. In any case, reworking the original road would cause chaos, probably cost more and we'd be left with a botch job and end up building a proper road in 10 year's time anyway.

Of course, with the country's finances going down the tube, all of this probably won't happen and we'll continue risking our lives on the existing N4 Longford-Mullingar.

1. Pandering - do you mean the compulsive purchase orders on our lands - at a price lower than what its actually worth and in doing so reducing our entitlements and forcing us to reduce our stocking numbers, hence reduce our income and force us to sell our stock in a reduced market? then what?

2. Give people back their villages?? Excuse me but do you think that Feericks, Vobe, and the likes of the petrol stations in Ballinalack will appreciate the bypass taking away business from them -after all they all only operate a hotel, petrol station and pub and truck/car parking facilities that many people use - i'm sure they are delighted with the prospect of rathowen/ballinalack being bypassed and their income going down the drain as a result.

I think not.

KAGY

According to the consultant engineer at the recent public consultation days, the new road will not be a motorway because it doesn't see the required amount of traffic and the projections for growth are not as high as they thought. So, they have planned a dual carrageway where fly-overs are not necessary to cross all roads. Junctions and roundabouts can be used instead.

A new road would be safer for weekend commuters and it may improve their quality of life but what about the people who have to live beside the road 24/7 and endure noise, light and pollution. Is it safer for the locals who will have to negotiate more junctions on a day to day basis as they travel to their local shops, schools. Is it safer to have a major juntion adjacent to a national school (proposed green route - juntion with N55). Is it safe to have old roads closed off and become cul-de-sacs? One of the last traffic collisions on the N4 resulting on fatalities was on an old section of the N4 Longford road that was closed off following the opening of the Edgeworthstown by-pass.

And what is the sense of proposing a by-pass of a by-pass in towns the size of Edgeworthstown and Longford. Both of these have room either side to upgrade into a dual carrageway. The NRA seem to have no issues with upgrading the M50 - the busiest road in Ireland so this cannot be used as an excuse.

People who have been CPOed state that the NRA are impossible to deal with. They take your land and then getting the money out of them is like getting blood out of a stone. I don't think they hand out the fat cheques with relish...

EC1000

KAGY wrote: »

A new road would be safer for weekend commuters and it may improve their quality of life but what about the people who have to live beside the road 24/7 and endure noise, light and pollution.

If it's good for weekend commuters then surely it's also good for the locals who are going to have the benefit of using it everyday?? I'm afraid your argument makes no sense. Fact - cars emit more pollutants when braking and accelerating than when travelling at even a moderate speed. Besides, I live approximately 100 metres from the existing road and I risk my life everyday when I go near it - it has nowhere near the capacity to cater for the current levels of traffic.

Remember when Mullingar was in line for a bypass - I seem to remember the same senseless arguments being made then aswell, namely that the town would suffer as a result of losing the passing traffic. I think its safe to say that communities thrive when the burden of traffic conjestion is removed.

The compelling arguments for a new N4 are too numerous to mention but surely greater safety is argument enough? Try turning right off the N4 when heading west or turning right when heading east - at Lough Owel carpark for instance.....

orbital83

MDFM wrote: »

at a price lower than what its actually worth

Define "worth". The Section 23 speculative property bubble is gone. Unemployment is rife. No-one wants a commuter house in Edgeworthstown any more. That's why there's hundreds of them lying vacant.
We're talking land for agricultural use. Nothing more.

For the better quality land, something like 20K per acre sounds like a reasonable market value, plus a CPO premium. I'd be surprised if people are being offered much less.

2. Give people back their villages?? Excuse me but do you think that Feericks, Vobe, and the likes of the petrol stations in Ballinalack will appreciate the bypass taking away business from them -after all they all only operate a hotel, petrol station and pub and truck/car parking facilities that many people use - i'm sure they are delighted with the prospect of rathowen/ballinalack being bypassed and their income going down the drain as a result.
I think not.

We had these arguments before. How would Mickey the butcher in Balbriggan survive if the M1 was built. How would Johnny the publican in Enfield survive if the M4 was built.

Luckily, nobody listened. Instead, our decision makers listened to the call for progress, the need for Ireland to move forward. Let's applaud them on the rare occasions they get things right.

It might even provide local people with the incentive to set up some sort of wealth-creating industry that isn't reliant on passing traffic for survival.

JupiterKid

The sooner that Longford is connected to the end of the Mullingar bypass by a full dual carriageway, the better. The existing N4 is operating grossly over capacity and is a dangerous road.

Those bleating on about CPOs and villages losing "passing trade" need a reality check. Longford and Ireland needs to advance and attract real wealth generating industry and services, not stagnate and get sucked down the black hole of a collapsing construction industry where the county has been littered by empty ghost housing estates built during the property bubble that may never be occupied.

Roll on the new N4!