Ireland’s first ‘school street’ was welcomed after it started operating Malahide in north Dublin last week.
The school street concept — which is gaining popularity in other countries, including the UK — includes restricting motorised traffic outside schools at drop off and pick up times to make it safer and more attractive for children outside their school.
The mayor of Fingal County Council welcomed the measure which is now in place outside St. Oliver Plunkett’s Malahide:
The best before & after photos you'll ever see! @fingalcoco #SchoolStreets pilot started in #Malahide today. 1st in Ireland. Official launch happening next week. Well done @AndrewNolan5 @GrainneCarroll8 @niamhyruss @davestorey18 & all in FCC Road Safety Section. #Fingal pic.twitter.com/vASxkoQ8dd
— Eoghan O'Brien (@CllrEOB) November 18, 2019
Mayor, Cllr Eoghan O’Brien said in a press release: “The School Streets initiative is a bold plan. The current situation outside both St. Oliver Plunkett’s and St. Andrew’s schools is unsustainable, and this initiative is a hugely positive scheme with massive potential to benefit everyone in the community. If this pilot is successful, I can see other School Streets being established across Fingal in front of existing and new schools.”
He continued: “I’m calling on all stakeholders – parents, children, residents and businesses to get behind this initiative. The current situation around our schools is completely unsustainable and we must adapt our behaviours to work towards a new, safe and sustainable way of doing things. I’m delighted that Malahide will lead the way with the first School Streets Initiative in Ireland. This approach has been proven to work extremely well in other countries and if everyone gets behind it, we can make this a success.”
David Storey, Director of Operations at Fingal County Council, said: “This initiative is being introduced to tackle the significant traffic safety issues surrounding St. Oliver Plunkett’s and St Andrew’s Primary Schools. Through consultation with the many stakeholders involved we believe this scheme will reduce the road traffic risks present outside the schools while providing a safer, cleaner, greener, and healthier environment for children and parents.”
Officials from the council tweeted these images and videos:
https://twitter.com/niamhyruss/status/1196526555020828676?s=21
#schoolstreets Day 1 thank you to all involved. Hopefully the start something new for kids going to school safely. @AndrewNolan5 @niamhyruss @MayorEOB @GrainneCarroll8 @Fingalcoco @alavin1 pic.twitter.com/EbGAOIiERI
— Dave storey (@davestorey18) November 18, 2019
The plan for the street was approved by local councillors:
Delighted to be introducing the #Schoolstreets initiative in Malahide next week following the unanimous decision by the Howth Malahide Area Committee to adopt the scheme on Wednesday. https://t.co/q6TikfccmX https://t.co/KzLSTL29bZ
— Andrew Nolan (@AndrewNolan5) November 10, 2019
It also includes new bicycle parking for the children:
New bike parking zone now installed as part of #schoolstreets@Fingalcoco pic.twitter.com/DEzCJqois7
— Dave storey (@davestorey18) November 23, 2019
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Lets hope this is the first of many ‘School Streets’, but more than this we need Safe Routes to School, to really get children out and about!