Johnstown Changes

The return of the Traffic Congestion at peak times came as no surprise with the Schools returning from Easter Holidays.

We know that this traffic at peak times isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

We've heard rumors that the Cycle Network may be extended to connect more locations but it's unlikely to significantly reduce congestion.

What will have an impact are the current and future building developments.

We can't show copyrighted material but if you'd like to see what is either being proposed or has gained planning permission then review this Council link.

Screen grab: Source Meath County Council

The Planning Portal holds a significant amount of planing application information and you need to master the controls to zoom in to select individual icons to find the material. Dig deep enough and you can see Public Information records on some of the developments past and present.

The major changes planned or being considered will have a significant impact on our once quiet area. We are growing and so will traffic.

A Brief Review of 'What we know'.

The Council HQ is due to fully open it's doors to around 400 staff. We don't have a date but suspect to hear an announcement in coming weeks.
Cois Glaisin Housing Estate is progressing into the next Phase.
Signage suggests the land next to the former gym, opposite the JPP, will be developed.
Dunville Housing Estate is due to have showrooms and Phase 1 sales commence this month but will also have access to the Old Johnstown Road.
The County Development Plan indicates future Community Infrastructure areas around the school.
The Primary and Secondary Schools have both yet to reach full capacity.
The population this side of the Boyne River is set to dramatically increase after the announcement that the land to the north of Johnstown, beyond the Kentstown Road, has received significant infrastructure funding for future residential and business development.

The map below highlights where these changes in population are located and they include use for Schools, Housing and Business.

It quite clearly shows that we should expect more vehicle traffic as a result over the next 5 to 10 years.

Key:

1. Johnstown North Housing, Business & Community.

2. Dunville Housing Estate

3 & 4. Community Infrastructure (Schools ?)

5. Cois Glaisin Housing Estate

6. Potential Housing

7. Council HQ

The highlighted area north of Johnstown already includes some completed development such as Tubberclaire Meadows and the recent work underway at Caisleán Mainéar. The scale of these developments will create much needed jobs and housing for Navan which is very welcome.

The plan does not show any IDA land developments which has significant room for future development and will have a major impact on our roads.

Our local commuter traffic.

There is some potential to alleviate the school congestion but it won't reduce the amount of cars in the area. At present the Primary and Secondary schools have one access road since the Old Johnstown Village road isn't currently fit to host significant traffic.

The adjacent Dunville Housing Estate has put in a connecting road that will enable the estate to have access to both the school roundabout and to the Old Johnstown Road (shown in yellow on the map below) with the entrance from the Kentstown Road having been upgraded.

If upon completion of the housing estate the Council were to upgrade the Old Johnstown Road then it could allow the school to open the 'back gates' and reduce the congestion on the Shopping Centre roundabout.

Potential new routes shown in Yellow.

There could be potential for a one way system of entry and exit for school traffic however where will this traffic go on from there...... Johnstown Village or Kentstown Road?

But there's more!

Recent news that Navan will have €12M funding for revamping the town centre should be welcomed since they put in a proposal and gained funding. Hopefully it will be wisely invested and show beneficial returns.

Our traffic issues however stem from being part of Navan too. We have our own local residential traffic since most of us commute to schools and work but here we review the bigger picture.

Our existing road network puts Navan squarely at the centre of several major roads connecting to various destinations. Although the M3 motorway takes away some through traffic we still live in an area with high use of cars, buses and trucks. The road map below indicates most of the significant local roads centering on Navan.

The existing network

Even travelling from one side of Navan to the other proves difficult without using the centre roads.

There is potential for the new development north of Johnstown to connect three significant roads and potentially alleviate some of the traffic heading through the centre of Navan.

Possible new road in Blue north of Johnstown.

The Boyne Road, Kentstown Road and the Dublin Road could potentially be linked but Metges Road in Johnstown will become a busier through route if this happens.

Going Further.

If you've ever played the game 'join the dots' then you could create further connections and perhaps Navan really has the makings of a long term traffic master plan, albeit requiring significant funding and being years away.

It is normal for the growth of some towns to begin at the intersection of major roads with future developments spreading outwards from this centre. When major roads fail to cope with the demand then new side roads can develop and link neighbouring areas. Connect up enough and form a ring road around the centre can certainly reduce inner congestion. Navan has the makings of this and Metges Road seems an obvious route to form a part of it.

A Potential Ring Road.

The following illustration is only my interpretation of one possible option. This is purely speculation but could be extremely useful even if only partially completed.

This is possibly not council planned, or being considered, and even if they ever came to fruition it could take decades to achieve but it would be of great benefit to most.

Potential Navan Ring Road

Making a ring road is far more complex that simply drawing it on a plan. It travels through existing neighbourhoods and most people wouldn't buy a house knowing that a busy road would be built on their doorstep a few years later.

A ring road will be highly controversial with advantages and disadvantages but at the moment we’re seeing a significant build-up of traffic in Johnstown and it's not going to reduce. Even forming some connecting links will be a positive step to free up traffic through the centre where the schools, business' and shops will have less congestion.

You can explore the hypothetical ring road in this google map.