Call for speed ramps at "very busy" Coosan NS

Council officials have said they will look at adding speed ramps in the vicinity of Coosan National School in Athlone, after the traffic calming measures were sought by Cllr Paul Hogan during a meeting last week.

At the November meeting of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, Cllr Hogan requested the installation of speed ramps on the approach to the school, saying "it's a very busy junction, because you have the school, the cemetery, access to the lake, and the (Department of Agriculture) labs on the other side".

He wondered if the road safety measures might qualify for funding through the Government's 'Safe Routes to School' scheme.

"I see a lot of schools around the country are putting in speed ramps adjacent to the school to try to slow down traffic, because obviously we are trying to encourage more people to walk their children to school and cycle their children to school," he said.

The motion was supported by the other councillors at the meeting, with Cllr John Dolan, Cllr Liam McDaniel and Cllr Frankie Keena each speaking in favour of it.

Ambrose Clarke, the outgoing director of services for the Athlone Moate district, said he was aware of a number of schools which had speed ramps installed nearby in recent times.

"They signal (to drivers) that there's something going on there, and I think they should be at every school," he said. "So we'll look into that and see if there's an option (to install ramps in Coosan)."

District manager Willie Ryan said there were clear benefits to adding speed ramps at schools.

"Ballinahown is a good case in point. Last year we put in two ramps, one on either side of the school, which also benefited the sports park and the recycling area," he said.

"The environment in front of the school has eased a lot, so it was a hugely successful project. Proposals for ramps in the vicinity of schools should be given the highest priority.

"I think all of our national schools, in particular, should be addressed," said Mr Ryan.

It was agreed that the council would consider the possibility of including the safety measures at Coosan NS as part of its works programme for 2025.