Kerry school traffic lights a ‘disaster’ as they light up in the middle of the night

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

School traffic lights on the Ring of Kerry have been branded a “disaster” by a local councillor as they have crept 12 hours out of sync.

Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae said traffic calming lights for the Filemore National School now light up in the middle of the night instead of at school hours.

“They’re a joke,” he said, pointing out they now provide no protection for pupils and parents on the fast national secondary road, the N70.

The school is set on a 100km/h stretch of the Ring of Kerry with the automated lights setting the section to 60km/h during school drop-off and pick-up times.

However, they now turn on between 8:30pm and 9:30pm and again at 2:30am, according to Cllr Healy-Rae.

Without the electronic signs, there is only a painted section of road at each end warning drivers of a school ahead and advising them to slow down.

Cllr Healy-Rae called the broken signage a “recipe for disaster” and urged the council to act “before its too late”.

The council said Transport Ireland had put in the infrastructure and were responsible for the maintenance.