Picture: Senator Comyn with Mihaela Balan, Chair of the Newtown View Residents Association
Two new bus stops are set to be installed on the Marsh Road in Drogheda to improve public transport access for residents of Newtown View.
The stops are expected to be in place before Christmas and will serve the D1 and D2 routes connecting Drogheda with Mornington, Bettystown and Laytown, according to Senator Alison Comyn.
Comyn said confirmation came less than three weeks after she raised the issue with Louth County Council following discussions with Mihaela Balan, Chair of the Newtown View Residents Association.
The stops will be delivered by Louth County Council in conjunction with the National Transport Authority.
“This is exactly the kind of practical result people want to see. Residents identified a problem, we brought it directly to the people who could solve it, and less than three weeks later we have confirmation that two new bus stops are coming,” Senator Comyn said.
“I want to thank Louth County Council for responding so quickly and the NTA for its role in providing bus stop infrastructure.”
€500,000 allocated for bus stop improvements
Louth County Council has been allocated €500,000 in NTA funding for 2026 under the Bus Stop Enhancement Programme.
The funding is intended to support the development and improvement of bus stop infrastructure across the county.
The Council also advertised a 2026 contract covering civil works for bus shelters and bus stop poles earlier this summer.
Direct walking route to MacBride Station also being explored
A separate proposal to create a more direct pedestrian connection between Newtown View and Drogheda’s MacBride railway station is also being considered.
Council engineers recently visited the area with Senator Comyn, Mihaela Balan and local residents to look at the possibility of creating a permeability link between the estate and the station.
Comyn said the connection could significantly shorten the journey for residents travelling to the station on foot.
“At the moment, residents can see just how close the railway station is, but getting there on foot involves a completely unnecessary detour,” she said.
“We stood there with the engineers and looked at the obvious question: can we create a direct link?”
The Newtown area sits immediately north of MacBride Station, with planning documentation for nearby lands noting its close relationship to the station and the future DART+ Coastal North terminus.
According to Comyn, Louth County Council is now considering whether a pedestrian link could be created and whether it could form part of future local area planning.
“We have already achieved the first part of what residents asked for, with two new bus stops now confirmed. My focus now is on getting that missing pedestrian link to the railway station over the line,” she said.
“These may seem like relatively small pieces of infrastructure, but they can make an enormous difference to a community. Better access to buses and trains means giving people a genuine alternative to taking the car and making public transport work for the people who live beside it.”
