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A NUMBER of Mercy Mounthawk students, along with staff and parents, delivered petitions containing over 1,200 signatures at Kerry County Council on Monday, expressing concern at road safety in the vicinity of the school.
The delegation also gave a presentation on the issue during the meeting of the Tralee Municipal District councillors and management.
Deputy Principal Shane Kissane said there was a serious situation with student safety and traffic management outside the school. He said it is nearly three years since he met the Safe Routes To School team about the issue and work to rectify the issues has not advanced.
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Student Council members delivered a powerpoint presentation and played a short video they made to highlight the issue.
They described how there have been two hit and run incidents and two near misses on the roads around the school in the last 18 months.
They said the Council needs to introduce measures to make it safer for students to walk and cycle to the school, to reduce traffic in the area and thereby reduce harmful emissions from vehicles.
The students requested urgent meetings with the Active Travel Team and the Safe Routes To School Team to discuss the issue.
The delegation was told that the funding has been allocated for works at a number of Tralee schools, including Mercy Mounthawk, under the Safe Routes To School programme.
Plans are currently being drawn up in conjunction with the NTA, which will be sent out in the next couple of weeks to consultants for the final design detail.
It’s likely then that the plan for works at Mercy Mounthawk will go to the public consultation stage in due course, but no timeline for this was given for this.
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You can’t make this up! The school has been extended several times without any consideration for the existing infrastructure and is the cause of all the traffic problems in the area. If every student wasn’t brought and collected individually by mum or dad, the problem would be solved to everyone’s satisfaction!
I live around the corner from the school but there is no footpath so my daughter cannot walk to school. She would cycle only it’s too dangerous with cars speeding around bends etc. I wish people would slow down and be aware of other road users. I even get beeped and glared at trying to exit my driveway. I believe it’s irresponsible driving and speed which are the issue.