N3 Noise Maps

There was an excellent response to my circular on the noise maps in August. Each County Council is obliged under the EU Noise Pollution Directive to draw up these maps and after a public consultation process set out in detail the actions to be taken to reduce noise and the time frame for delivery

Over 50 submissions were made on the Action Plan to and the majority of these submissions were made by residents along the N3. These can be viewed at noisemaps@fingalcoco.ie
The final version of the plan must be produced by Fingal County Council by 18th October 2008 and submitted for approval to the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the Council a noise monitoring network is currently being established throughout the county to validate the noise maps and this will be in operation by the end of December 2008. Under the EU Directive a local action plan for the N3 must to be produced between October 2009 and October 2010. The plan must specify a timeline setting out in detail the actions to be taken to reduce noise and the time frame for delivery.

It would seem it is open to the Council to determine what that delivery timeline will be and this is what is so disconcerting. The Council of course does not have to wait until the end of this process. The problems of the N3 have been identified and action should be taken now. Fingal and the National Roads Authority (NRA) should co-fund the construction of a wall or buffalo timber acoustic fence along the boundary between with N3 as has been done along the M50. As an infrastructural investment it should not be subject to budgetary constraints especially since it would benefit the health of so many families in the immediate area and indeed the quality of life of all Clonee.