Crossing at Finisklin Road
PARENTS and guardians who drop off/collect pupils around schools in Sligo are demonstrating “an almost complete disregard” for the rules of the road.
Not only that, but they are the most frequent violators of road safety rules.
That’s according to Senior Executive Engineer with the Council Briain Flynn who was responding to requests from Councillors Seamus Kilgannon and Marie Casserly for a pedestrian crossing on the Finisklin Road near the Ursuline College.
He added that the recent widening of the paths for pedestrians and cyclists were “merely encouragement for motorists to park on the footpath” and the Council now may have to retrofit bollards to stop people from parking on the cycle lanes.
Flynn told members that the Council had made plans to apply for funding for a pedestrian crossing at the Ursuline next year, but he warned it would “not be a panacea for all concerns around school safety” as it would give rise to traffic delays.
Cllr Casserly said she put down her motion on this last year as the traffic around the Ursuline was “crazy” at peak times.
“I welcome the pedestrian crossing there, it is busy and hopefully it will make a difference and keep them safer. I wouldn’t welcome bollards on the cycle lane as that’s going to stop people from cycling. It’s a one-way system and it works quite well. It’s just a matter of the schools getting it out to parents that they can use the one way system,” she said.
Cllr Kilgannon said it was a very busy road with all the new businesses such as the filling station and the new Lidl opening up there.
Councillor Hubert Keaney pointed to Summerhill College which had a drop off point everybody used: “It works. A pedestrian crossing would increase the traffic problems down there.”
“An effort should be made to use the existing infrastructure. Gardaí should use bollards to stop people parking there,” he said.
Mayor Rosaleen O’Grady and Councillor Chris MacManus wondered if stakeholders at a recent meeting were told the same by the Council.
Flynn said they were and the meeting was instigated at the request of Deputy Tony McLoughlin. Chief Executive Ciarán Hayes said there was no problem with Deputy McLoughlin lobbying but he was looking at “alternative ways of bringing children to school.”
Cllr Kilgannon suggested the Ursuline may need to enlarge their drop-off area.