A delegation has expressed concerns relating to road safety near Kerry’s largest secondary school.
The group from Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School addressed the recent Tralee Municipal District meeting.
They told the meeting there had been hit and runs, as well as near misses, close to the school.
Deputy principal at Mercy Mounthawk, Shane Kissane told the meeting it was a serious situation at the school.
The deputation gave presentations on traffic, traffic management and the safety of students; a video, made by students, was also played to highlight their concerns.
Student Abigail Adetunji told the meeting she was deeply worried about the Caherslee and Braker O’Regan roads, stating there had been two hit and runs, and two near misses on the roads near the school in the past 18-months alone.
The deputation called on the council to introduce measures to make it safer for students to walk or cycle to school.
These include having raised or different coloured surfaces, improved street lighting at pedestrian crossings as well as the installation of segregated cycle lanes on approach roads.
The students also requested urgent meetings with the Active Travel Team and the Safe Routes To School Team to discuss their concerns.
Kerry County Council management told the group that funding was allocated for five Kerry schools, including Mercy Mounthawk, under the Safe Routes To School programme.
It stated that plans were being drawn up for these, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, and it’s planned that these will be sent to consultants to prepare the final design detail.
The council assured students it was working very hard on the project.
