Coola Post Primary is ‘a victim of its own success’
COOLA Post Primary School has been described as “a victim of its own success” in relation to traffic problems in the area in the mornings and afternoons.
At a meeting of Sligo County Council a joint motion from Cllrs Thomas Walsh and Martin Baker, who are on the school’s board of management, called for the council to engage with the school on the provision of additional parking and improved set down area at the school as the number of students continues to grow and consider it for a Clár funding application.
Cllr Walsh said that Coola was one of the fastest growing schools in the county and anybody travelling that road at school times would be aware of the problems with traffic at those times.
“The traffic is at a standstill due to the lack of a set down area at the school,” he said. He said that the problem had been exascerbated because of Covid as extra buses were now being used. Cllr Martin Baker said that the school has got “larger and larger” and he felt the council had a responsibility to make things safer by helping to provide a set down area. Referring to the traffic situation at the school, he said: “It is the mercy of God that there hasn’t been a serious accident there.”
Cllr Gerard Mullaney said that Coola had been “a victim of its own success” and was drawing pupils from outside of its catchment area.
Cllr Arthur Gibbons, who is now on the board of management and has a grandchild at the school, said that an engineer from the council needed to go and see the situation there some afternoon. Cathaoirleach Cllr Paul Taylor said that anything to do with safety needed to be supported and Cllr Dara Mulvey said that the school was now drawing students from over a wide area. Director of services Tom Kilfeather said that it would be an ideal location for a Clár scheme.
He said that if the council worked together with the board of management they could get it high up on the list for next year.