Delvin preschool road safety petition has 1,000 signatures already

Pedestrian and road safety are on the agenda for the upcoming elections, says Cllr Una D’Arcy.

“When I raised the concerns of the village of Delvin in the council chamber, I didn’t receive support from any of the other councillors.

"Now, when they see 1,200 names on the petition that followed, the word is that deputies from both Longford Westmeath and Meath West are offering their help. That is great news but we need actions not words.

“There are 1200 signatures in the pack that Rita McGrath (owner of Peter Pan Montessori) asked me to take to the county council.

"And there are still petitions circulating in the community. I’d be confident with those numbers going into the Dáil never mind the municipal district.”

The petition was started following the lack of support for Cllr D’Arcy’s request at the Mullingar Municipal District February meeting that the council take measures at Castletown Delvin on the N51.

“I was asking that the council review the activity of drivers on the road and take measures to make it safer.

"I had brought a motion seeking safety measures at the request of Rita McGrath and other residents on the N51, but not a single councillor supported the motion, spoke up to support the community or to even added to what I had to say – so the motion failed.

“I suggested that the next step was a petition. Anyone that knows Rita knows that she is not a lady to do anything by small measure. This petition is a lot of hard work, printing sheets, laminating them, circulating them and asking people to support the need for something at this location.”

Rita owns and manages the Peter pan Montessori, a preschool with 50 children attending it through the week. She raised the issue of the speed and driving behaviour on this straight stretch of road and it would seem that everyone in Delvin agrees with her.

“The first issue is the speed of vehicles at that location. Frustrated drivers coming from Athboy, who have been unable to overtake slower vehicles, often use this stretch of the road to overtake; and drivers coming from Delvin side unwilling to get stuck behind a slow vehicle before the narrow twisting section treat this stretch of straight road as an important passing point.

"It means that it is a place of significant acceleration and overtaking in both directions,” said Cllr D’Arcy.

“The second issue is connected, as there is only a footpath on the far side of the road from the Montessori and the children have no safe crossing point.

"This is a wider issue for Delvin. The N52 carries a phenomenal amount of traffic through the village – it is a busy road, and getting busier.

"The impact of this increased traffic through the village must be balanced against having pedestrian access.

"Walking to local businesses and services, holding your small child’s hand to cross a road that you hope they will one day will walk along and cross without your help is crucial to a healthy lifestyle and a village culture.

"The concerns raised by Rita are reiterated by village residents on all the links to the N52 and we should take the opportunity to have a wider pedestrian linkage plan for the village.”

Rita raise another important point with respect to the growth of preschools.

“I think it is time that preschool children and the venues they attend are recognised the same way as schools, and the same safety features on the road asking drivers to slow are put in place.”