Call for better public transport links at Louth estate

Senator Alison Comyn has backed a campaign by residents of Newtown View on Drogheda’s Marsh Road for a direct pedestrian and cycle connection to MacBride railway station and new D1/D2 bus stops at the entrance to the estate.

The Newtown View Residents Association has submitted the proposals as part of Louth County Council’s Part 8 consultation on the Drogheda R132/R150 Active Travel Scheme.

Senator Comyn recently visited the estate and said the lack of connectivity was immediately apparent.

“Newtown View is effectively sitting behind Drogheda railway station. You can see how close the railway infrastructure is, and yet people living here face a completely disproportionate journey simply to get to the station on foot. That makes no sense whatsoever.

“If we build homes beside public transport, we have to make it possible for the people living in those homes to actually access it.”

Newtown View has 133 households and more than 200 residents. Its Residents Association says the existing walk to MacBride Station can take between 45 and 60 minutes, while a direct pedestrian connection could potentially reduce that journey to approximately 15 minutes.

Senator Comyn said: “This isn’t about asking for a railway station or a new bus route. The infrastructure is already here. What is missing are the connections to it.

"The residents have made a detailed and constructive submission, and I am strongly supporting their request for a direct, safe and lit pedestrian and cycle route to MacBride Station.”

She is also backing the association’s request for new sheltered, lit D1/D2 bus stops at the entrance to Newtown View.

Residents say they currently have to walk more than 20 minutes towards Weirhope to reach a bus stop and that sections of the route lack public lighting. The submission also identifies the lack of a footpath towards Laytown as a significant barrier.

Senator Comyn said the issue was particularly important because Newtown View is social housing and not every household has access to a car.

“Public transport has to be genuinely accessible, not theoretically accessible.

“If you are a student trying to get to college, a parent with a buggy, an older person, a shift worker coming home after dark or somebody who simply cannot afford to own a car, telling you that there is a train station nearby isn’t much use if you cannot safely get to it.

“This is precisely what Active Travel should be about. It is about joining up communities, removing unnecessary car journeys, and allowing people to walk, cycle and use public transport safely.”

The Residents Association argues that the proposed pedestrian connection would reduce traffic on the already congested Marsh Road, encourage increased use of rail and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Senator Comyn has written to Louth County Council in support of the Part 8 submission and is asking for engagement with Iarnród Éireann, the National Transport Authority and Bus Éireann.

“I want the Council and the transport agencies to get around a table, or better still come out to Newtown View and look at it on the ground.

“The residents have identified two practical missing links. We should now establish what is required to deliver them.”