'An issue for almost 40 years’ – Call for Safe Routes to School inclusion for Meath primary school
A Navan councillor has called for progress on road safety measures outside a Meath national school, saying families have been “waiting almost forty years” for safe access.
At the October meeting of the Navan Municipal District, Fine Gael councillor John Duffy tabled a motion calling for Cannistown National School to be included in the Safe Routes to School programme. However, Meath County Council has warned that doing so could make existing parking problems outside the school even worse.
“This has been an issue for almost 40 years — something needs to be done,” Cllr Duffy said.
The Safe Routes to School initiative, run by An Taisce, aims to make school journeys safer and promote walking and cycling by upgrading footpaths, crossings and access points.
Meath County Council plays a key role in delivering the infrastructure, but An Taisce ultimately decides which schools are selected for inclusion.
In its response, the council said it supported the aims of the programme but cautioned that new front-of-school works and footpaths at Cannistown NS might not necessarily increase active travel — and could, in fact, create an even larger parking issue at the school.
The council said: “It’s not immediately obvious that front-of-school works with new footpaths at Cannistown NS would result in a mode shift towards active travel journeys to and from school.”
" It is also possible that it could result in creating an even larger problem with parking outside the school,” they added.