Parents demanding urgent road safety measures outside Dangan school

Concerned parents in Dangan fear that it will only be a matter of time before a child is killed or seriously injured due to the lack of road safety measures outside a local primary school

A petition has been started for Meath County Council to take urgent action to provide a safe crossing outside a dangerous stretch of road at Dangan National School.

The failure of the local authority to replace the 'lollipop man' who retired in October is putting the lives of the 191 students at risk according to Michelle O’Donnell who says her five-year-old son is “lucky to be alive” after having a near miss.

“My son literally nearly stepped out in front of a moving bus, it was terrifying. I reported this to Meath Co Council but all I got back from them was that they were only going to review the need for a school warden when they are reviewing the school policy.

“I was really fortunate to bring my son home and not to be sitting in a funeral parlour that evening,” added the distraught mum. “It is a fatal accident waiting to happen.”

The youngster failed to spot his mum when he came out of the school that day and continued to walk with no safety warden there to guide him as the Dangan parent explains:

“ A five-year-old boy doesn't have the prefrontal cortex like we do to have logical decision making and just kept walking and didn't realise there was a bus he was about to step in front of only for myself and another mother grabbed him. In the event that there was a traffic warden there the protocol would be that when kids come out of school all traffic would stop.

“It's concerning because reading the road statistics here and the percentage of children that are killed, it's crazy really, I don't want my child to be a percentage.”

The worried mum says the local authority to needs to act with haste to prevent a tragic situation.

“There was a school warden there for the past ten or fifteen years, why all of a sudden is there no need for one? The road is busier, the kids have a different social background having grown up in a covid environment spending their early years in lockdown and having less awareness.

“Dangan is a very different school, it is two metres away from the road, that's a dangerous situation. There has been too many people killed on the road already this year and we are only at the start of it.”

Local woman, Johanna Williams who has a daughter in fourth class started the petition that now has almost 300 signatures.

“The majority of parents who I spoke to whilst getting their signature for the petition all have a story to tell of a near miss,” said Ms Williams.

“The pressure is unbelievable for parents not to be late for their child in the afternoon. If for any reason I'm late, I'm panicking because I'm going to be worried about her seeing the orange man and thinking ‘I still have time he’s not red yet’ and there is nothing to stop a car going through.

“It has gone beyond a joke. Parents will have to lose a child for something to be done.”

Safety measures introduced on the road are not fit for purpose according to The concerned mother.

“There were speed ramps put in but they are way too far away from the school. You can pick up massive speed from one ramp to the traffic lights and vice versa the opposite side.

“We are very, very annoyed. We will stand outside and picket everyday if we have to because it is so, so dangerous.”

Principal of Dangan National School, Aoife Ryan said:

“Given our proximity to a highly trafficked main road, the school must have a safety warden. Worryingly, I have already received reports from parents about near misses occurring outside the school.

“I sincerely hope that the council can take swift action before someone sustains serious injuries. The community has waited long enough for this position to be filled, the council must prioritise addressing this issue as soon as possible.”

Local Fine Gael Cllr Joe Fox says he is “hopeful” that a traffic warden will be appointed to the school in the coming weeks.

“The council are trying to get somebody else trained in on the job so we are hopeful that we are going to get someone in the next few weeks.

“We need a traffic warden there because it is an exceptional school in that it is on a regional road.”

Meath Co Council has been contacted for comment.