Councillors of the Letterkenny-Milford district raised a series of concerns about safety measures at schools this week, urging the council to prioritise improvements before an accident occurs.
“A lot of schools are left behind with safety measures and we cannot wait until something serious happens,” said Cllr Pauric McGarvey as several issues were raised at Tuesday’s meeting.
Several issues were brought up regarding access to Lurgybrack National School in Letterkenny.
Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh requested a safety survey at the school, which is located on the busy N13 road. He proposed exploring the possibility that the path above the school is made a permanent path with a ‘decent surface’.
Cllr Donal Coyle also raised a motion asking the council to contact Transport Infrastructure Ireland regarding the inadequate layby.
“It’s not really a layby as such” Cllr Coyle said. “The fact is, there are 15-16 cars that park there on a daily basis. People are getting out of the cars and walking straight into muck and dirt and I think that’s a disgrace.”
“There is very little indication that there is a school there,” added Cllr Coyle, as he called for a warning beacon.
Cllr Coyle also expressed concern over vehicles turning out of the school: “Something has to be done before there is a serious accident. You have cars coming out of the school and taking a right turn back down the road. There is going to be a fatality there, it’s highly dangerous.” Councillors were told that the Roads Safety Engineer is currently carrying out an assessment at the school.
Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly highlighted the dangers of speeding on the R250 near Glenswilly National School. He called for the reinstatement of public lighting at the junction across from the school, with the council indicating it would consider this within its public footpath and lighting program.
In Kilmacrennan, Cllr Pauric McGarvey made the call for flashing lights to be erected on the Trentagh side of the Kilmacrennan NS to slow down the traffic at set down and pick up times. He further proposed a full review of every primary and secondary school in the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District to make sure the flashing lights, signs and road markings are adequate and in working order.
A spokesperson for Donegal County Council said that all schools are encouraged to report any issues with the school warning lights.
Cllr John O’Donnell pushed for speed ramps at Kilmacrennan National School, citing a near-incident some weeks ago when a parent and child “had a very close encounter with a car”.
Cllr McGarvey stressed the importance of safe access to all schools adjacent to public roads, saying that safety fears have also been raised at Drumfad NS in Kerrykeel, Scoil Naomh Bríd in Downings and Ayr Hill NS in Ramelton.
Cllr Liam Blaney highlighted ongoing issues regarding near-misses at Carrigart National School, despite past improvement efforts. Cllr Blaney requested an investigation by the safe schools team to identify further solutions and suggested that temporary ramps could be an option. The council said that the school has been advised to apply to the NTA Safe Routes to School scheme when it becomes available in the future.
