Safety concerns at school pencil bollards

By Dan Walsh at Enniscorthy Municipal Council meeting

The Active Travel team who completed the ‘Safe Routes to School’ design and plans at St. Aidan’s Parish School is to be summoned before the next meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council to address concerns around the pencil bollards, which have become a feature at the school entrance recently.

The matter came before today’s (Monday) monthly meeting of the Council held in the Council Chamber at the Presentation Centre when Cllr Jackser Owens submitted a motion calling “to have the barrier rails put back on the path outside St. Aidan’s Parish School.” Cllr Owens had raised the matter at the monthly meeting of Wexford County Council last week.

Cllr Owens said there were about 900 students in the school, he is unhappy about the pencil bollards, which are about one metre apart, and he called for the barrier, which he claims has been there for about 70 years, (???) to be put back in place.

Cathaoirleach Cllr John O’Rourke reminded the members that all six had agreed to the proposal at the November meeting, 2022, and said it was ‘a health and safety issue’. Back then the adoption of the plan was proposed by Cllr Owens and seconded by Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy and was accepted and financed under the Green Schools scheme supported by An Taisce, the National Transport Authority and Wexford County Council.

Cllr Aidan Browne spoke about safety outside the school and agreed “we did all vote for it.” Cllr Murphy added it was a “safety issue” and stated the barrier was removed to prevent a crush injury.

At this point, Cllr Cathal Byrne proposed to “bring the Active Travel team before the next meeting to address concerns. “Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan seconded.

The pencil shaped bollards were amongst the safety measures proposed for the school zone in the ‘Safe Routes to School at St. Aidan’s Parish School’ and it was claimed in the plan that “Pencil bollards on footpaths highlight the front of school and prevents parking on the footpaths.” It also proposed the replacement of guard rails at the front of school with narrow planters and pencil themed bollards.

The work has included the addition of speed ramps, raised pedestrian crossing, changes to the paving surface within the school zone, widening of footpaths, micro art on footpaths, the iconic pencil bollards, and a periodic speed limit of 30km/h on Convent Road.