Minister visits Cooley to witness 'parking chaos at Bush'

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers TD, was in Cooley this week, where he witnessed what local representative, Cllr Andrea McKevitt described as the “parking chaos at Bush”.

Councillor McKevitt along with Senator Erin McGreehan say they were delighted to welcome the Minister to the Cooley Peninsula this week.

Both say they have long been advocating for safety measures to be implemented along the R173, where they say there are “many hotspots” along the stretch of road.

“Starting at Bellurgan National School”, Cllr McKevitt told the Dundalk Democrat, “where there is a service station and then Bellurgan FC, moving along we come to the built up area of Lordship which has St Patricks GFC GAA grounds, with Rampark NS, and several housing developments, along with a chapel, graveyard and takeaway at the south of the village.”

Heading towards Carlingford, Minister Chambers stopped off at Bush Post Primary School, to see first hand and hear of what Cllr McKevitt calls “the daily chaos at home time faced by parents, students and teachers”, where she said “the entire cross roads at the Bush is a huge cause for concern when school is out.”

The requirement for extra parking spaces, an additional bus service and safety measures to be implemented on the R173 at the Bush junction were all discussed with the Dublin West Minister.

Cllr McKevitt said that Minister Chambers “could see how worrying the situation is at Bush and has advised that his Department will review the Cooley Secondary School under the Safe Routes To School”.

Rogan’s Cross at Grange and Cooley Hall were also highlighted to the Minister on his visit, as junctions of concern, where motorists often feel ‘’like sitting ducks’’.

There are huge volumes of traffic on this regional road Cllr McKevitt commented and she said she personally believes that “this regional road, sees the volume of motorway traffic, and is simply unable to cope with the speed of vehicles on the road''.

Senator McGreehan commented that, “there are so many small mitigation measures that can be put in place that would make a huge difference’’

Cllr McKevitt and with Senator Erin McGreehan said they “raised all these concerning issues with the Minister on his visit” and expressed “the frustration of so many within the community”.

Both politicians said they welcomed the commitment from the Minister to review the situation under Safe Routes To School and say they are hopeful “that a solution can be met once and for all that is in the best interests of the entire community”.