No footpath for Kildare school due to 'prohibitive costs'
Cllr David Trost (FF) raised safety concerns around St. Wolstan's School, Celbridge at a recent MD meeting
Kildare County Council has ruled out providing a footpath leading to St Wolstan's School in Celbridge, due to “prohibitive” costs.
Cllr David Trost (FF) motioned in an MD meeting held on Friday May 16 for the council to improve the existing footpath at Killeenlea and extend it towards Saint Wolstan's School, Celbridge.
Cllr Trost said the road is used by local students attending the school, and is also used as a drop off area for students.
Speaking on his motion, Cllr Trost said that for “visibility”, he would like to state that he is a member of the board of St Wolstan's School.
He said this issue was “really a very serious health and safety issue”, and the area was becoming an official drop off point for parents leaving their children to school.
He said he knew the answer he would get was that there was no funding, but the council would have to seriously start look for funding to address the problem.
In the short-term, he suggested, the council could implement some sort of safety measures, for example safety barriers at the drop-off location to prevent motorists from parking on that road or pulling into it.
What's happening, he said, is that students are running straight across the road, so that it is a serious health and safety risk.
Cllr Nuala Killeen (SD) said there have been “a lot of improvements” at the location over the last number of years, but housing development adjacent to the school had led to a larger student population, as could be seen elsewhere in Celbridge.
She suggested that perhaps development contributions could be used to fund a footpath at the location, as there was still a stretch of road that was still problematic.
Cllr Killeen added that she believed the works should go on a waiting programme list, “even if it was a couple of years”.
Voicing her opinion on the situation with schools in the district, Cllr Killeen added: “I think all the schools should be school street zones, should be shut down for half an hour every day”, adding this was the safest way to get students to and from school.
She said school safety is a growing problem in the Celbridge-Leixlip district, and that maybe the council should look at all the schools and plan it as a five-year project.
A report issued by the council stated: “Currently there is a footpath on the southern side of the R403 road from Killeenlea to Saint Wolastans. There are also dedicaated vechicle drop off and pick up facilities wihin the road area for Saint Wolstans and the North Kildare Educate Together Campus.
“An estimate of costs for providing a footpath from Killeenlea to Springfield Bed and Breakfast on the northern side of the R403 Clane Road was previosuly carried out. It was determined that the estimated cost is prohibititive for the delivery of a footpath in the northern verge.”