Letter to the Editor: A question of road space

Dear sir - With all of the changes and roadworks which we’ve seen in Navan over the last number of years, a common theme we seem to hear is that the local council is trying to make it harder for people to drive into Navan town. However, the opposite is true. They are not trying to make it harder to drive, but make it easier to use other modes of transport, such as the ever-expanding local bus service or walking and cycling. The knock on effect of this is that it will reduce the amount of cars on the road, and in doing so free up more space for those who want or need to drive.

Decades of planning Navan town around access for motor vehicles, and decades of underfunding in public transport and active travel, have combined to lead Navan where it is today. On top of that, the population has boomed, having almost doubled from 20,000 in the early 2000s to 40,000 in 2024. Navan is an old, historic, market town, and quite simply, the town centre does not have the physical space to expand anymore. There is no space to add any more new roads, so it simply cannot accommodate more cars as the population continues to grow.

This planning has also led to practically 100 per cent of road space leading into the town and in the town itself being dedicated to cars. There are no bus lanes. There are very limited and unconnected bike lanes. There are no pedestrian streets. Even Kennedy Plaza, which was planned and designed as an award-winning civic public square, is overrun with cars. In order to make room for buses and bikes, and make more room for pedestrians, some of this road space needs to be reallocated to public transport and active travel.

That does not mean you cannot drive. What it does means that there will be alternatives, and it will be safe and efficient to cycle or get the bus. A recent poll by the Department of Transport showed that nine -in-10 car drivers are willing to leave their cars at home in favour of cycling and public transport for trips less than 2km. But first we have to make it possible.

Another way to look at it is, if the council had previously implemented bus routes with dedicated bus lanes, and a network of bike lanes, would Navan now have the chronic traffic problems it has seen over the last number of years? The answer is no. So, now in 2025, why not aim for that balance? Change can be tough, and people like to complain, but in Navan especially, there is simply no more space, or time, so it needs to be embraced.

Yours

Ed Moynihan,

Navan Cycling Initiative.