‘Frightening’ scenes are being witnessed in Bodyke with ‘increasing danger’ in the vicinity of Bodyke national school on a frequent basis.
Immediate installation of road safety measures outside Bodyke national school have been sought by Cllr Joe Cooney (FG). He referenced the “growing school population” plus the “speed and volume” of traffic using the Bodyke to Limerick regional road for creating “an increasingly dangerous” situation for children, teachers and parents. Funding to prioritise “major improvement works” is required he felt.
Discussions have been held on the matter between members of the Bodyke Community Council and staff within the Killaloe Municipal District, senior executive engineer Tom Mellet confirmed.
A pedestrian crossing has been identified as “the preferred option” by Killaloe MD staff. This would be located closer to the school while measures at the R352 junction to reduce the potential for speed coming from the village and additional signage from the Broadford approach are needed, Mellett noted.
Efforts to source land are ongoing from the school board of management, Cllr Cooney detailed at a recent meeting of the Killaloe MD. “Something needs to be done. I have pictures of what is going on and it would actually frighten you”. Two rows of traffic are parking on the left-hand side of the road, he highlighted with limited room between the school and road. He suggested that short-term measures be put in place until the “badly needed” major improvement.
Having recently passed the school at collection time, Cllr Pat Burke (FG) observed that “it is quite narrow and quite dangerous”.
Online support for safety measures are growing, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) outlined. “Safety around any school is paramount, especially in areas where there is little space”. Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) added, “Schools on a busy regional road are extremely dangerous”. “It is a critical area around our schools and it is incumbent on us to keep children safe,” Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) commented.
