Call for action on bus collection concerns at Moate school

A local councillor has called for alterations to the parking arrangements at Moate Community School "to avoid a certain accident happening in the future".

Speaking at the monthly meeting of Athlone-Moate Municipal District, Cllr Vinny McCormack said it was paramount that the council worked with the school authorities and Bus Éireann to address bus collection issues at Moate Community School.

"It's not the first time that this issued has been raised in the chamber. It is a very tight space for buses to park outside of the school, and coupled with parents dropping up their children at the same time, it is an extremely busy spot at both morning and evening times," Cllr McCormack said.

The councillor stated that the danger of an accident happening was further heightened by the "huge amount" of pedestrians "on the move" in the area.

"We have taken steps in the past to deal with this situation but now that the sheer volume of traffic has increased in the town we need to work with the school and Bus Éireann and take appropriate measures to resolve the issue," Cllr McCormack said.

In response, District Engineer Willie Ryan said previous attempts to have a face-to-face meeting with the relevant parties had failed to materialise, but stated he was hopeful that such a meeting would be arranged in the coming weeks.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme