Action demanded at Laois ‘death trap’ school

A ROAD with two different speed limits outside a Laois primary school was described as a ‘death trap’ at a council meeting.

One side of the rural route past the school has a 50kph speed limit, while the limit is 80kph for traffic coming in the opposite direction.

Independent Cllr Ben Brennan appealed for action regarding the road outside Mayo NS in Crettyard, as he asked for an update on a school safety zone that was previously promised.

He said: “When you come up to Crettyard and go past the school you come into a 80kph zone, but when you are coming the other way the speed limit is only 50kph. It doesn’t make sense.

“Drivers know that when they pass the school they can do 80kph, so it’s a death trap. The school safety zone was supposed to be done.” 

In a written response at the latest meeting of Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District, a road design engineer said that staff would meet the councillor on site to ‘assess the school location from a safety perspective’.

The response added: ‘All potential safety measures will be explored.’ 

Senior engineer Tom Drennan said there is “a range of safety schemes” that schools can apply for.

Cllr Aisling Moran (Ind) agreed that safety works are needed outside Mayo NS and said: “It would be great to have a lot of these safety schemes done during the summer break.” 

Cllr Moran supported the use of 2D speed ramps, which are painted on roads to give the illusion of speed ramps and prompt drivers to slow down.

She said: “I think they did it over in Emo and it is working. I’ve also seen them in The Netherlands. It’s just paint that looks like a ramp and it works, compared to a speed ramp that costs €5,000.”