Pedestrian fears at Finisklin due to illegal road parking
CONCERNS are being raised for the health and safety of students at the Ursuline College and other pedestrians using the Finisklin Road in Sligo, amid fears illegal parking may cause a road traffic accident in the area unless preventative action is taken.
Fine Gael representative Blaine Gaffney and Fine Gael Deputy Tony McLoughlin have asked the Gardaí and the traffic wardens to take on a greater role in enforcing the traffic bye-laws in the area and to move on the illegally parked cars that they claim are the “key cause” to the traffic problems in the area.
Deputy McLoughlin and Gaffney have also asked Sligo County Council to consider applying for funding under the Department of Transport’s ‘Safety Improvement Scheme’ in order to develop a new pedestrian crossing in the area as a preventative measure.
“It is only matter of time before an accident occurs in the Finisklin Road area due to the ongoing problems caused with illegal parking in the area and the, at times, chaotic nature of pedestrians and students crossing the road during peak times,” Gaffney told The Sligo Champion.
“Since February 2017, a large number of parents of students at the Ursuline College, along with employees from the nearby ‘Bruss factory’, have contacted me in order to highlight the problems they face when dropping their children to and from school safely and also whilst accessing and leaving their place of work in the mornings and evenings.
“There has already been a number of near misses in the area as people who are crossing the road could not be seen emerging from behind these illegally parked cars.
Blaine Gaffney organised a meeting between the management of the School, local businesses in the area and Sligo County Council last month to identify how to resolve these concerns and establish the best way forward.