Wicklow Sinn Féin public representatives John Brady TD and Councillor Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien have described as outrageous and illogical plans to proceed with the plan to close the Herbert Road junction from the N11. The plans are contained in the Options Selection Report for the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Corridor, which was presented to members of Bray Municipal District at their meeting on Tuesday last.
Speaking after the meeting Deputy John Brady said
"The confirmation that the proposal to close the Herbert Road access to and from the N11 is set to proceed is an outrageous and illogical decision that completely disregards the views and needs of the people of Bray. Despite total opposition from the community, this deeply flawed plan is being pushed ahead, ignoring the clear and overwhelming rejection of it by residents, businesses, and commuters.
The so-called public consultation process was nothing more than a box-ticking exercise. Thousands of submissions were made as part of the process, all raising serious concerns about the impact of this closure. As part of this, I arranged a petition that gathered over 2,000 signatures from local people—real people who will be directly affected by this disastrous decision. This is an undeniable expression of total opposition to the closure of Herbert Road, a critical artery and one of just four access points in and out of the town. To close it is not just short-sighted—it is reckless and will have dire consequences for the people of Bray.
Residents already know exactly what the impact of this closure will be because they have lived through it before. When Herbert Road was temporarily closed for several months to allow for pedestrian crossing upgrades, public lighting, and an improved road layout, the impact was immediate and severe. The closure brought absolute chaos to the area, adding huge amounts of time to people’s journeys, and causing bottlenecks across the entire town. So, this is not just a localised issue—the disruption was felt right across Bray. If a temporary closure caused that level of gridlock, what do those behind this plan think will happen if the road is closed permanently? It is simply unworkable.
Bray is already at breaking point when it comes to traffic congestion. Chronic delays are a daily reality for commuters, parents doing school runs, workers trying to get to their jobs, and businesses that rely on smooth transport access. The town is gridlocked during peak times, and this will only get worse in the coming years. The massive new development on the old Bray Golf Club lands will add hundreds, if not thousands, of additional cars onto the local roads. Instead of addressing this growing problem with real, long-term traffic solutions, the authorities are making a bad situation even worse by closing a key route that could help alleviate congestion.
The suggestion that this will somehow enhance public transport is an insult to the intelligence of local people. What this plan really does is allow a bus or two to speed down the hard shoulder every hour, while everyone else—residents, visitors, schoolgoers, workers, and commuters—remains stuck in worsening traffic. That is not a transport strategy. That is a recipe for disaster.
This harebrained idea must be removed from the plans immediately. It defies logic, it disregards public opinion, and it will make the already dire traffic situation in Bray even worse. I will be raising this issue in the Dáil and demanding immediate intervention from the government before it is too late. The Minister for Transport and Tánaiste Simon Harris must step in now and put an end to this reckless proposal. The people of Bray deserve better than this, and I will not stand by while their needs are ignored, I will fight this illogical decision all the way.
According to Sinn Féin Councillor and Cathaoirleach Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien
“It feels like this proposal seeks to purposely close an artery into Bray as a means of prioritising bus journeys for people outside of Bray. It is very hard to reconcile the value of a decision like this, especially when over a thousand submissions and 4500 signatures on petitions expressed the strong opposition of the people of Bray during the consultation.
It’s important to point out that there are no question marks about the commitment of Bray Municipal District to tackle the traffic and transport challenges in the town which can be clearly seen by the establishment of a formal Committee to give that issue the attention it deserves. What there are question marks about is the degree to which the latest proposals for this scheme are fully considering the impact on the people of Bray and as such the elected members at the Municipal District meeting unanimously agreed to seek a pause and full review of the scheme.” Ends
For more information contact: Deputy John Brady 085-8546464, Cllr Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien 086-0635195
