Parents tell of 'frustration' over school safety issues
Pictured at the recent St Corban's CBS Parents' Council AGM were committee members Catherine Dunne, Siobhan Woods, Mary Conlon, Sarah Melligan Banville; back - David O'Brien (BOM representative), Patrick Redfern, Caroline Kelly (Teachers' representative).
NAAS, 10 October 2002: A 17-year fight by parents at St Corban’s Primary School to have Naas Town Council officials deal with safety issues outside the school finally resulted in some work being carried out during the summer. But the parents now say much of what has been done is ‘neither what they expected or all they were promised’.
During their 17-year fight the Parents’ Council said they had only received one written communication on the issue from the Council.
And a parent with Health & Safety expertise who spearheaded negotiations with Naas Town Council this past school year said it has been a ‘very frustrating’ time for her in her efforts.
The Parents’ Council had put together a list of ‘solutions’ to the traffic situation outside the school gate which included a designated drop off area, barriers along the footpath, a pedestrian crossing at Murtagh’s Corner, the possible repositioning of the Lollipop Lady who directs traffic on the main Kilcullen Road, and/or a new Lollipop person. They also sought access to the school via the Swimming Pool field.
The parents put this list to representatives of both Naas Town Council and Kildare County Council at a meeting last December held during the peak danger time of children being collected from school at 3pm. The parents received an assurance that the solutions would be implemented by April.
In March, they were told by Kildare County Council that access via the Swimming Pool would not be possible. “By this time we had heard nothing from Naas Town Council,” Siobhan Woods told the AGM. “It was very frustrating. You never hear anything back from them.
“Things were supposed to have been done in February and March, but despite several phone calls, there was still no response.”
It was then the Parents’ Council contacted local councillors who offered support. “They said the school needs to relocate long-term, but I was interested in immediate measures,” Siobhan said.
After representations to the councillors, the issue was raised at the April Town Council meeting at which the town clerk said consultant engineers would assess the road traffic in the area and the work would be completed during the summer holidays.
“In June, on the last day of term, the town engineer and I met with the Consultant engineers who had drawn up two sets of plans. We were told we were getting a ramp and a barrier outside the footpath,” Ms Woods said, “and the consulting engineer said he would put a very strong case to the town clerk for the provision of a second Lollipop lady at the school gate.”
In the end no work was done until the last week of July.
The week before school re-opened, parents met with the town engineer and found while progress had been made it was not to the extent that had been discussed.
“We were delighted with some aspects of what was done, but it still wasn’t complete. While the ramp is to the required standard height, it’s effectiveness is debatable,” Siobhan Woods explained.
The parents were also told there would be no railing along the front of the school.
“But we’d been told the railings were being made, and would be in place by mid October. As regards our query about another Lollipop Lady, the town engineer said ‘we have never been formally requested about that’ I was absolutely gobsmacked. I have written nine letters to the Council and we have had five meetings and this was always brought up.”
The Parents’ Council are still waiting for the barriers and will keep pursuing the issue of the Lollipop Lady.
The parents expressed their delight that work has now started on putting in a pedestrian phase to the traffic lights at Murtagh’s Corner, but Ms Woods said this was not part of the Consultant’s remit.
In his address, school principal Declan McGovern said there was a certain sense of deja vu about certain aspects of the meeting. “To me, this evening there is a great sense of optimism and of achievement,” he noted. “However, for 17 years we have been experiencing unbelievable frustration with the various agencies in trying to alleviate problems of safety issues.”
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Narraghmore parish church is to have gutters and downpipes replaced after an architect’s survey of the premises following the occurance of damp over the summer. The work will require fundraising to make up the balance between the cost and the money available in the parish fund.
Kilcock is to take part in a health initiative which will involve its 3,000-plus residents being invited to ‘reassess’ their drinking behaviour. The programme is a pilot one by the South Western Area Health Board and the results will eventually have national implications. The board’s CEO Pat Donnelly said the town had a ‘good track record’ in previous health promotion initiatives.
Kildare County Council has opened to public scrutiny the plans for the proposed Millennium Park Western Link Road which will join the business park to the Newbridge Road. The particulars and plans can be viewed at Naas Town Hall, Naas Library and Kildare County Council’s offices at St Mary’s.
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