Council hosts public meeting to address fears over Wexford school scheme – ‘There’ll be 120 spaces, it’s perfect for park and stride’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Having been accused of not fully engaging with the people of The Ballagh over the proposed Safe Routes to School scheme in the village, Wexford County Council (WCC) hosted a special public consultation in the community hall last Tuesday evening. Headed by director of roads and transport, Mr Eamonn Hore, the meeting offered those who have raised concerns about the scheme the opportunity to have their voices heard and questions answered.

Originally approved by county councillors in June of this year, the proposed scheme has been designed to provide children and families with the option of walking or cycling directly to Ballaghkeene National School every day. As part of the scheme, new footpaths, pedestrian crossings, and car parks will be constructed in the village along with the tightening of some carriageways and junctions.

However, many of those living locally have contended that, far from making The Ballagh safer, the new layout will create problems which didn’t previously exist and make life more difficult for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Chaired by cathaoirleach of the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District (GKMD) Councillor Donal Kenny, the meeting began with a presentation by Mr Hore. He explained that, following its application in 2021, Ballaghkeene NS was chosen for SRTS last Autumn and the managing body An Taisce subsequently compiled an Outline Delivery Plan (ODP) which was presented to the school and WCC.

As part of this plan an audit was carried out at the school. Currently the speed limit outside the school is 50km/h and, according to the ODP, “students must navigate through parked vehicles, many with engines idling, to enter the school grounds”.

"These gates not only pose a barrier to accessibility for some but also increase the risk of congestion,” the report states.

In addition, over 70 per cent of students use private vehicles to travel to class every day as there is no school bus in operation.

As part of the process, the school distributed a travel survey to all families of Ballaghkeene NS. There was a 75.6 per cent response rate to the survey with 83.1 per cent of respondents stating that road safety is a problem around the school.

A further survey, which had 96 respondents, found that 15.6 per cent of students currently walk to school, 1 per cent cycle, 10.4 per cent use ‘park and stride’, and 70.8 per cent travel by car. Of those living within one kilometre or less from the school, 42.9 per cent currently walk.

"If there was a safe routes to school available that would increase to 70-80 per cent,” added Mr Hore.

Highlighting one of the main reasons why the SRTS scheme had been requested for Ballaghkeene NS, Mr Hore pointed to a traffic survey carried out in the village earlier this year.

“We surveyed traffic over seven days (March 31 – April 7) and found that of the 18,810 vehicles which passed through the village 12,038 broke the speed limit,” he said. “The highest speed recorded was 112 km/h. 1,062 HGVs passed through the village, and 15 per cent of them travelled at 60km/h per hour or faster. The highest speed recorded by a truck was 83 km/h.”

One of the main tenets of SRTS, according to Mr Hore, is providing parents with the option to ‘park and stride’, i.e. to park within a short distance of the school and walk the rest of the way.

“The design guide issued by the SRTS team asks that we provide park and stride locations within 600m of the school,” he continued. “We’re lucky that we have significant parking locations with that distance of the school. But you have to make sure that the routes used to the schools are safe, including the crossings.

"So we are providing pedestrian crossings, removing car parking outside the school, and putting footpaths the whole way in. There will be plenty of advance warning (outside the school) for the speed limits, the ramps, and the crossings, there will be pencil bollards all along the footpath to stop people parking there, they’re very visual for drivers approaching the area.

"There’s a huge amount of road safety features going into this plan which will definitely make things safer, not only for the schoolchildren, but for the whole village.”

The nearest of the carparks will be situated at the local graveyard which is 148m from the school. Further spaces will be available at the church (282m) and an additional 30 spaces at the local boxing club are currently subject to planning permission.

"There will be over 120 spaces within 350m of the school,” said Mr Hore. “That’s perfect for park and stride.”

Noting that the length of time it took to walk from these car parks ranged from a minute to two-and-a-half minutes, Mr Hore said sightlines at all these locations would be improved with the removal and maintenance of hedges in and around the school.

With so many of the proposed parking spaces on grounds which may be used for other, more traditional, purposes, Mr Hore addressed fears that Mass times, funerals, and weddings could hamper efforts to park and stride and upset mourners or revellers.

“People who’ll be parking and dropping off their kids to school will be well gone before Mass starts at 10 a.m.,” he began. "We checked rip.ie for 2024 and up to today and there were nine funerals in the church for all of last year and the first half of 2025, and three of those were cremations.

"We went to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and got additional figures from there, included Oulart and the hinterland, and we found that there were 17 deaths in that time period. So there are very few days where the churchyard will be taken up. With weddings we asked the priest and he said they’re rarely on weekdays and that most take place on the weekends.”

Having initially been costed at €220,000, the scheme has since risen to €350,000 due to amendments to the design, amendments which Mr Hore said were a direct result of the feedback received from the community.

New footpaths will be installed on either side of the road in the centre of the village to prevent cars from parking outside the local chipper. Although WCC examined the possibility of installing a ramp at the steps beside The Grotto it was deemed unsuitable due to the gradient of the slope.

“People are parking in that area and, as a result, you have wheelchairs and buggies in the middle of the road,” continued Mr Hore. "So we have looked at that, it wasn’t part of the original plan and it will increase the cost, but we will be installing a footpath there.”

Another issue frequently raised by those living in the area are the number of agricultural vehicles which travel through The Ballagh on a hourly basis. Many of those opposing the scheme contend that the new layout will cause issues at junctions, making it impassable for HGVs and creating safety problems for pedestrians.

“With regards to junctions in the village we have taken on board the number of HGVs and agricultural traffic travelling through, to alleviate some of those concerns we’ve widened the road to The Sawdust Inn further,” said Mr Hore. “We will be taking out the ditch and the wall that’s there and installing a footpath but leaving enough room for the traffic to get through.”

Opening the floor to the public, Mr Hore then fielded questions from those in attendance.

The first of those came from Evleen O’Sullivan who noted that 70 per cent of the school population live outside the 1km distance referenced in Mr Hore’s presentation. She also said that, regardless of the changes to the layout of the village, the volume of traffic passing through won’t decrease.

“That amount of traffic will continue to pass through here, that is why people have raised concerns about a design which has children crossing the road at the graveyard,” she said. “Also, is there a timeline for works on the Glentire side of the village? We haven’t got a crossing there and it has the highest density of people, do you know when the speed limit will be changed so that the crossing can be installed?

“We’d like this scheme to benefit everybody for the 365 days of the year, not just the 182 the school is open.”

“You’re correct about the statistics," replied Mr Hore. “42.9 per cent of those living within that kilometre, walk, and we think that figure will rise substantially if footpaths are installed all the way in. Outside that one kilometre there’s already 10 per cent of people who park and stride, that will increase as well. Traffic won’t change but we will slow it down."

On the queries relating to Glentire, Mr Hore said there was a national review of the speed limits planned for later in the year and that the proposed works were not going to “make the situation any more dangerous than it is”.

"We’re making it safer, there’s the option to stay on the same side as the takeaway, and there’ll now be a footpath on that side. The reason we’re putting a footpath on the other side is because some people won’t be able to use the steps, so there’s an option to cross.”

"I disagree,” a member of the audience replied. “You’re making it more dangerous. People will have to cross the road twice. There’s no assistance for those crossing the road there.”

“What do people who live in the Glentire area do at the moment?” asked Mr Hore.

“Almost 50 per cent of them walk and a lot more will do so,” said Mr Hore. ”If you want to stay on the far side of the road you can, we’ve connected the footpath there, they can stay on the path and use the steps to go from Glentire to the school. The reason there’s a footpath on the other side is for those with wheelchairs and buggies.”

One of the main bones of contention for parents has been the decision to create a dedicated car park at the graveyard near the school with many fearing that a safe crossing there is unfeasible.

“The area at the graveyard is already being used by some people to park so why not put in a safe crossing?” countered Mr Hore. “On the Enniscorthy side of the school there will be a ramp so you’ll have to slow down, the crossing itself will be raised, and traffic will be able to see it ahead, I guarantee you that. At that car park the standard space for cars will be applied, it will be the same as what’s at the school currently but with the addition of a footpath and a safe crossing.”

Referencing other schools in the county which have benefitted from the safe routes scheme, Mr Hore said that the overwhelming response from teachers, staff, and parents had been a positive one.

“Nobody who asked for the SRTS has since asked us to remove it.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for An Taisce has moved to clarify its role in the process.

“The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) scheme is coordinated by An Taisce and delivered in collaboration with the local authority (WCC),” they said. “The SRTS team in An Taisce carry out the earliest engagement with the schools and local authorities. As part of this process we gather information from the school community via a travel survey, carry out observations at school drop off and collection times, carry out audits along key routes to the schools, collaborate with the school and local authority point of contacts on high level concept delivery plans which address the needs of the school in line with the aims of the programme and national guidance.

"We do provide a range of further support to both the schools as the local authority as works progress. However, all design, public consultation, securing funding for work, and delivery of work, is the function of the local authority.”