Give me shelter.... More bus stops for Navan town bus routes

A NEW bus shelter at the existing stop near the fire station in Navan along with nine new bus stops are planned for Navan this year.

At a meeting of Navan Municipal Council last week, Cllr Emer Tóibín asked for a list of the proposed new bus stops and new bus shelters in the Municipal District.

She was told there would be a new shelter at the Kells Road stop near the fire station, as well as new stops, one in either direction, on the Slane Road at Blackcastle Demesne.

Two stops are also proposed for the Blackcastle estate, Johnstown and Cois Gaisin, while a single inbound stop is proposed for Academy Street.

Cllr Tóibín was told the work was subject to the continued support and approval of the NTA.

Timeframes are not definite as the works may require boundary alterations (by agreement), planning permission, road safety audits and are subject to a competitive tendering process.

Cllr Tóibín welcomed the proposed bus stops, but said a lot more was needed and the allocation to Meath from the NTA was "derisory."

"The focus now is on active travel and I have had scores and scores of people contact me about the need for bus stops. I know there isn't an endless pot of money but the NTA should have a much bigger budget for Meath.

"We have a much greater number of commuters in Meath than elsewhere in the country and the budget should reflect that," she said.

Cllr Tóibín said that one particular area where a bus shelter was badly needed was at Garlow Cross, where a large number of schoolchildren get buses into Navan.

"It is a dangerous junction and in wet weather, parents don't let their children out of the cars until the bus comes, so they are parked around the junction.

"If there was a bus shelter there, that wouldn't happen. No child should have to sit all day in school in wet clothes because there isn't a bus shelter. The bus stop across the road, for people going to Dublin has a shelter."

At last week's meeting, Cllr Tóibín was told the responsibility for the provision of bus stop infrastructure is a matter for the relevant bus operators and the NTA.

Meath County Council provides assistance to the NTA in respect of the delivery of the sustainable infrastructure, such as the project management of the construction works relating to bus stops and those necessary to facilitate the erection of the bus shelters by the NTA’s bus shelter installation contractor.

While the council periodically discusses representations received in relation to new infrastructure with the NTA, the executive recommended that councillors raise matters such as the provision of new bus stops and new bus shelters directly with the NTA given their statutory role in this regard.