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Road safety: Bessbrook parents call for school crossing changes

BBC Road Safety Awareness Day organised by the parent's association at St. Peter's Primary SchoolBBC
A Road Safety Awareness Day was recently arranged for pupils - however, one parent argued that more needs to be done

A blind spot on a school road crossing in County Armagh is "an accident waiting to happen", a parent has said.

Concerned parents near Bessbrook, are campaigning for road safety measures to be introduced near a primary school.

They say there has been a rise in traffic near St Peter's Primary School, in Cloughreagh, since the McKnights Hill housing development was built.

Ronan McAnulty said he drives his son to school because it is so dangerous.

It should be a five-minute walk.

"We need speed ramps and an actual crossing," he told BBC News NI.

"We want the cars stopped at proper lights, and the kids to know when it's safe to walk.

"It would take me five minutes to walk my kid to school and I have to drive him because of how dangerous the road is."

Parents struggling to cross road

The Department for Infrastructure said an assessment of safety measures would be carried out.

The parent's association at St Peter's Primary School recently arranged a Road Safety Awareness Day for pupils but Mr McAnulty said more still needs to be done.

"The kids need educated about crossing the road but drivers need to be educated on how to drive safely too."

The principal of St Peter's Primary School said he sees parents struggling to get their children across the road on McKnights Hill on a daily basis.

It means parents often have to wait up to five minutes to safely cross.

Brendan Tierney, St. Peter's Primary School principal
Brendan Tierney, principal of St Peter's Primary School, said he has major safety concerns

"I have a genuine concern for the safety of these children and fear greatly that we will only be seen to act after something serious has taken place," Brendan Tierney said in an email to a Department for Infrastructure representative.

Mr Tierney has called for urgent intervention from the department.

"We held a public meeting a few weeks back which was attended by over 100 residents and local politicians, highlighting the need for something to be done," he added.

A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said St Patrick's Primary School in Bessbrook has benefitted from part-time 20mph speed limits, introduced at more than 200 schools across Northern Ireland.

"An assessment will be undertaken and if further measures are appropriate, they will be considered in a future works programme," the statement added.