Councillor seeks bus bays for Athlone town school

The installation of bus bays at an all-girls primary school in Athlone town may not be possible due to the very limited space outside the school premises.

This was the response given to Cllr John Dolan by District Engineer Willie Ryan, at the January meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District, when he described the area in the vicinity of the St Peter's NS on Excise Street as “very, very tight.”

While he admitted to “not being hugely familiar” with the area in question, Mr Ryan agreed to meet with Cllr Dolan and representatives of the school at their premises to discuss their concerns and see what action can be taken to address safety concerns for pupils.

In a motion before the meeting, Cllr Dolan said bus bays are needed at St Peter's NS to improve safety in the area and to assist students with additional needs in accessing the buses.

“The current situation at the school is that the children have to go out on the road to get the bus, and this is not ideal at all, particularly for those children who have additional needs” he said.

The Fine Gael councillor received unanimous support from his colleagues for the motion, with the written response from the council executive pointing out that “there is limited space available” on the footpaths/streets near the school for the provision of “additional measures.”

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