Speed signs at schools ‘donated’

SPEED warning signs that were erected over the past couple of weeks near primary schools in Lios Póil, Baile and Fheirtéaraigh and Cill Mhic a’ Dhomhnaigh will make the roads safer for young school pupils, but the essential work only got done thanks to a ‘donation’ from a local county councillor.

Last autumn Cllr Breandán Fitzgerald asked Kerry County Council to install ‘driver feedback signs’, which tell drivers what speed they’re doing and have proven to be a very effective traffic calming tool. The council agreed with the proposal, but didn’t have funds to pay for the work until Cllr Fitzgerald provided the money from his own ‘councillor’s allocation’ – a small discretionary fund that councillors are able to spend as they see fit on public projects.

“I have asked that every primary school get these lights and that there should be a national scheme under which schools could apply directly to get these lights and other safety measures. Until that happens, I am very happy to allocate funding from my councillor’s allocation, where possible, to get these measures at our primary schools in West Kerry,” said Breandán.

He said that, ideally, he would like to see traffic calming measures installed as a matter of form around all schools and at the entrance to every village, especially when they are on busy tourist routes, as is the case in Cill Mhic a’ Dhomhnaigh and Baile an Fheirtéaraigh.

However, neither Kerry County Council nor Transport Infrastructure Ireland has agreed with the proposal. “We’ve called for it, but everything is reliant on funding,” Breandán said.