New website highlights Slane bypass campaign

A new website aimed at raising the profile of organisations campaigning for a bypass for Slane village is up and running since last week. The Bypass Slane Campaign says that Slane has a medieval bridge and an 18th century road carrying 21st century articulated traffic and claims that the only long-term solution to the ongoing traffic problem in Slane was the construction of the bypass. Recently, the compulsory purchase order, a major step in the move towards a bypass, was published. The new website - www.bypassslane.com - gives detailed information about the organisation behind the campaign, along with news items, lobbying, a petition, and a traffic watch section. Its home page is dominated by the Slane accident blackspot symbol and the fact that 22 people have been killed so far on the bridge and through the village. The Bypass Slane Campaign says it does not have exact figures for the number of people injured in accidents but states that countless people have also been hurt. Its main objectives are to highlight the ongoing serious road safety issue in the village, to lobby locally and nationally for the fast-tracking of the Slane bypass, and lobbying Meath County Council for immediate safety measures. The group says that the typography of Slane features a steep descent of 800m along the N2 from the northern side of the village down to the bridge over the river Boyne. "To make the descent, traffic must negotiate two particularly sharp bends, one which leads directly onto the narrow medieval bridge. The vast majority of crashes have occurred along this steep stretch of road and, in particular, on the approaches to, and on the bridge itself." The group uses a map to show that the other major factors contributing to the appalling road safety situation in Slane is the volume of traffic passing through the village and, in particular, the number of heavy goods vehicles. "The latest traffic figures from Meath County Council show that 1,600 trucks pass through the village of Slane each day. Nearly all collisions involve out-of-control trucks on the stretch of road highlighted on the map," the group added. The website says there are 22 white crosses set on the wall on the Mill Hill, which represents the number of people killed on the roads in Slane over the last 40 years. The first fatality was in 1961 and the last fatality was in 2001 when a two-year-old child was killed. The group says it is lobbying Meath County Council to implement the HGV ban passed by councillors in April last year, immediately install additional traffic-calming measures, including pedestrian-controlled crossings (at the school and the new playground); the installation of speed cameras and electronic flashing signage giving vehicle speeds and warning of the steep gradients ahead, and applying to Bord Pleanala for permission to commence the construction of the bypass as soon as possible. It is also lobbying the National Roads Authority (NRA) and Government to prioritise the Slane bypass in the Government's Transport 21 strategy, seeking assurance for funding to allow construction to begin as soon as planning process is complete, and applying to Bord Pleanala for permission to commence construction of the bypass as soon as possible.