Call for improved road markings in school zones

By Rebekah O'Reilly

A call has been made for road markings outside schools across the Athlone-Moate Municipal District to be upgraded in the interest of child safety.

At a recent district meeting, Cllr John Dolan requested that councillors discuss the painting of roads outside schools to clearly define them as “School Zones”.

Speaking on the motion, Cllr Dolan said the issue had become a priority following a recent incident in Cornamaddy.

“It’s about school safety. I’ve seen a number of schools where good work has been done at a reasonable cost,” he said.

“With the incident that happened at Cornamaddy recently, that’s now a priority.”

Cllr Dolan said the council should identify schools requiring immediate attention, naming Cornamaddy, Castledaly and Ballinahown as examples.

“We need a list of schools that need a fast solution,” he said. “For most schools, a bit of paint would do. There are 43 schools in the district, and we could work our way through them over the next two to three years.”

In a written response, the council executive said members had previously agreed to undertake improvements based on a draft priority list prepared by the district.

The response noted that expected funding from the council's General Municipal Allocation (GMA) would allow for limited measures such as ramps, road markings and coloured surfacing to highlight school locations.

However, the executive added that a full School Zone scheme would typically require a broader range of measures, including signage, traffic calming, pedestrian crossings and footpath upgrades, which would require dedicated capital or active travel funding.

The council said it would proceed with low-cost improvements at priority schools while continuing to seek funding opportunities for more comprehensive 'School Zone' projects.

District Manager Annie Blessington said there was no one size fits all approach to the issue. “We will move forward with the low-cost measures,” she said.