THE CHAIRMAN of Wicklow County Council has criticised the local authority's plans to create a new town at Fassaroe on the edge of the M/N11, close to the border with Co Dublin.
The proposal, which has been put out for public consultation until Wednesday next, envisages a new town with a residential population of 7,000 and jobs for some 16,000 workers being developed on the Fassaroe site, about one mile west of Bray, in line with the proposed arrival of light rail to Fassaroe by 2015.
The Railway Procurement Agency's current plans envisage the extension of Luas to Bray, where it would traverse a 950-home and commercial centre proposed for the former golf club lands by Pizarro Ltd. It is envisaged that Pizarro would make a multimillion- euro contribution to the cost of the Luas extension.
It is also proposed to have a spur from the Luas extension to serve Fassaroe, on the edge of the M/N11.
The chairman, Derek Mitchell (FG), has made a submission against the local authority plans, claiming that the M/N11 adjacent to Fassaroe is already at almost twice its intended capacity.
Mr Mitchell said regular commuters on the M/N11, coming from north Wicklow in the morning rush hours and home again in the evening, has resulted in the increased traffic congestion.
The cathaoirleach said the council was planning "considerable growth" in Wicklow town, as well as 900 new homes in Greystones and the limited expansion of Newtownmountkennedy, much of which, he claimed, would affect the M/N11. He pointed to 4km tailbacks "most evenings" on the route.
