BATTERIES STOLEN FROM ROAD SAFETY SIGNS
O’SHEA: ‘IT BEGGARS BELIEF THAT PEOPLE WOULD DELIBERATELY PUT THE LIVES OF OTHERS AT RISK’
CALLOUS thieves are putting the lives of motorists and pedestrians in north Cork villages at risk – by stealing the batteries from roadside flashing speed-warning signs.
Cllr Tony O’Shea (FG) has slammed those behind the thefts, which have forced Cork County Council to put padlocked chains around the units in order to prevent them being damaged.
Cllr O’Shea said the issue first came to his attention when the signs outside Glantane National School recently stopped working.
“When I reported this to the council I was shocked to find out the reason behind this was that the boxes containing the mechanisms under the signs had been forced open and the batteries stolen,” said Cllr O’Shea.
“The same thing has happened to signs in Bweeng and Dromahane. From speaking to fellow county councillors from around Cork, it is my understanding this has also been happening at other locations across the county,” he added.
Typically, these signs are located at outside schools, in built-up neighbourhoods and at areas with there are high accident rates, in order to slow down the flow of traffic and reduce the risk to both pedestrians and other road users.
They are part-funded by Cork County
Council, with local parent associations and community councils making up the required shortfall to cover their installation.
“The bottom line here is that these lights have been put in place to slow down speeding traffic and ensure the safety of all road users. It beggars belief that people would deliberately put the lives of others at risk by rendering these signs inoperable,” said Cllr O’Shea.
“It is also sticking two fingers up to the community organisations that have invested so much money, time and effort into getting these potentially lifesaving signs put in place,” he added.
A Cork County Council official confirmed they were aware of the thefts and said the authority was closely monitoring the situation.
“If this continues we will have to look at taking further action,” they said.