This article is from page 75 of the 2008-10-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 75 JPG
PARENTS in- Knockerra have warned the council that lives will be lost 1f the speed limit outside the lo- cal national school is not reduced.
Three years after the parents as- sociation in St Senan’s National School, Knockerra, first started to lobby Clare County Council to ob- tain a temporary speed limit restric- tion, parents are maintaining nothing has been done.
‘A reduced speed limit just during certain times, is not a lot to ask,” said one parent.
As far back as 2005 the senior staff officer in transport and infrastructure at Clare County Council responded, ‘A 50 kilometres per hour speed lim- it in this location would be contrary to the general advice contained in the Department of Transport guide- lines for speed limits and, in practice would be unenforceable.”
In May 2006, the local Garda su- perintendent said he would have no objection to reducing the speed limit in Knockerra village from 80 km/ph to 50 km/ph. The senior engineer in Clare County Council responded to the parents association saying, “It is
likely that such a special speed limit will be introduced in the vicinity of Knockerra School and this will op- erate for appropriate periods during school hours.”
It states “the introduction of speed limits in most such areas, unless they can be strictly enforced is not alone pointless but brings the whole speed limit process into disrepute.”
There are now flashing lights on both approaches to the school but no road markings. “This is a very sorry state of affairs; the gardai are behind the initiative, but the county coun- cil seemingly don’t care. Schools in
other parts of the county have been successful in having the speed limits reduced. In Knockerra, the ball was started three years ago. Does it take a fatality for the council to wake up and see that indecision is putting a generation in danger?” an angry par- nlm (6
This road is used by traffic going to the Killimer ferry and Money- point Generating Station. It has also become a rat run for people who try to shave five minutes off their jour- ney time. Trucks and lorries also pass as parents bring their children to school.