80kph speed limit remains in place outside most Donegal schools

Road safety signage, like here close to St Mura's NS at Burnfoot, advises motorists to reduce speed when approaching schools. | Iconic

placeholder image — Road safety signage, like here close to St Mura's NS at Burnfoot, advises motorists to reduce speed when approaching schools. | Iconic

Council tender documents reveal 86 Donegal schools are located on local and regional roads where the maximum speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour applies

Donegal County Council has launched a tender competition for an €85,000 contract to maintain school safety signage at almost 150 schools across the county.

The successful contractor will be appointed for an initial three-year period to inspect, maintain and, where required, upgrade the flashing amber warning beacons and speed limit signs installed outside schools on regional and local roads.

Tender documents show there are 147 primary and secondary schools in Donegal covered by the scheme.

The contract comes as school communities across Donegal continue to campaign for improved road safety measures and lower speed limits outside schools.

However, the council's tender documents reveal that the maximum 80 kilometre per hour speed limit remains in place outside 86 schools - well over half of those included in the maintenance programme. A further 67 schools are located in 50kph zones, while six have 60kph speed limits.

Schools located on national primary and national secondary roads, where a 100 kph limits are generally in place, are the responsibility of Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

The contractor will be responsible for carrying out a survey of all school safety signage, repairing faults and replacing damaged equipment where necessary. The work will also include checking electrical wiring and batteries, cleaning signs and beacons, carrying out minor pruning of trees and hedges where visibility is affected, and ensuring the flashing amber lights and electronic speed warning signs are correctly programmed.

The timing of the warning beacons must be agreed with school principals and programmed to reflect school opening hours, term dates and holiday periods so that the signs operate only during the school day and term times.

The successful bidder may also be required to install new school safety signage or alter existing installations as directed by the council during the contract period.

Interested contractors have until 6 August to submit electronic tenders through the Government's eTenders portal.