Council warns proposed pedestrian flyover in Navan would not represent ‘good value for public funds’
A proposed pedestrian flyover at a busy Navan junction “would not represent good value for public funds,” Meath County Council has said.
At the November meeting of Navan Municipal District, Independent Councillor Francis Deane submitted the motion, asking the council to consider installing a bridge where Abbeylands carpark intersects the R147 and links with Abbey Road.
“The intersections on the ground are complicated and the experience for pedestrians and cyclists can be chaotic,” he said.
“Previously, I called for this issue to be resolved when Navan Town Council was in existence."
However, in its written response, the council noted that safety improvements were carried out around 2019, including pedestrian and cyclist crossings on all four arms of the junction.
Surveys at the time assessed pedestrian movements and desire lines, which the council said were incorporated into the junction’s design.
The council added that a bridge on one arm of the junction to link Abbeylands carpark to Abbey Road “would only cater for one set of pedestrian movements.”
They noted that the current on-road pedestrian crossing at this signalised junction is approximately 15 metres, while a bridge built to minimum design standards, including ramps and headroom, would measure roughly 200 metres. The council said it “is not expected that many pedestrians or cyclists would utilise the bridge.”
“The N51/R147/Abbey Road junction was designed and constructed to incorporate all of the pedestrian desire lines at the junction,” the local authority said.
They added: “The cost involved and the benefits accruing suggest that providing a pedestrian bridge at this location would not represent good value for public funds.”