Pedestrian bypass gate not fit for families

Buggies problem at Thompson's CrossWhen the new junction at Thompson's Cross (above) was built, Kildare County Council made a swing gate onto the old Athy Road section to facilitate people walking to Kilcullen from Old Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

The idea was that they wouldn't have to walk through a very busy and quite blind junction from a pedestrian point of view, and a critical section of their walk would be through a quiet and safe traffic-free area.

But the engineering designers forgot something important. That some of those people might have buggies and bicycles for the children with them.

Now residents who like to walk into town are asking for a rethink on the type of gate.

It wouldn't take much, in design thought, or expense. The existing setup is a wooden affair, so there'd be little involved in construction costs.

But until a family-friendly solution is put in place, buggies and bicycles have to be lifted over the fence, not an easy task for a mum on her own with baby and buggy.

As Maxine Strain shows in some of the photographs here, when walking her children to school. The choice was to push the buggy with her 4-month-old and walk the children through the junction, or use the walkway but have to take the baby out, lay him in the grass, lift the buggy over the gate and then put the baby back in the buggy again.

"We can’t let the children ride their bikes into the village because of the same issue," Maxine says. "Effectively, if you live in Old Kilcullen, have a baby but don’t have a car, then forget about going into the village!"

Cllr Ivan Keatley says he will raise the matter with the Council.