The pupils of 5th and 6th Class from Cliffoney National School visited Sligo County Council’s offices on Monday 14th February to highlight the many challenges they face in terms of traffic volumes and speed, lack of parking facilities and issues around the pedestrian crossing on the very busy national primary route situated right outside their school.
Cliffoney National School Visit
Pupils of Cliffoney National School impress at County Hall
The pupils also showcased their impressive scale model of Cliffoney Village which they created as part of their Green Schools Project on Road Safety. The pupils were attending the Sligo-Drumcliffe Municipal District Meeting. All Councillors present and Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken commended the pupils for the quality of their presentation.
Each of the pupils took part in the presentation which highlighted data collected at the critical ‘drop-off’ times between 9am and 11.30am on 6th October 2021. They captured and collated information on 244 vehicles, and discovered that 80 vehicles, or almost one third of the traffic passing the school, were exceeding the speed limit.
The pupils also outlined a number of practical measures they believe could be taken to address the problems, including increased Garda presence in the village, new signage and speed cameras, traffic calming measures, a footpath on the Mullaghmore Road, and the provision of designated parking areas for the National School and adjacent Acorn Montessori School.
The pupils were accompanied by their Principal Ellie Kennedy, Vice – Principal/Classroom Teacher Annaleen Lang and Annemarie McGowan. Aine O’Loughlin from Green Schools Ireland and Steve Barker, Cliffoney Community Forum, also attended the meeting.
