CHILDREN going to school in Tramore are risking their lives everyday due to a lack of controlled safe crossings in the town.

This is the issue being raised by the Mayor of Tramore, Councillor Joe Conway who is very critical of the sub-standard facilities for roadcrossings in the town.

“Why are we being discriminated against?” he said. “ We need to reexamine and re-focus on the safecrossing facilities for children in our town.”

Cllr. Conway has called on parents of school going children to put pressure on the council and their local politicians to implement these safe crossings. In particular, he has received numerous complaints from concerned parents of children going to the local Gaelscoil.

He is frustrated with the County Council’s Engineering department who have said that each crossing would cost nearly €40,000 and that the creation of these crossings would lead to driver confusion. “There have already been a number of near fatalities in these areas,” he added

Despite a growing population in the town, facilities for such roadcrossings are inadequate.

The Holy Cross school, one of the biggest primary schools in the south-east has only one crossing that protects the children on the Ring road side. Pupils in the Gaelscoil fare even worse as there is no crossing on the Ring road. Also there is a glaring absence of child-restraint barriers in the racecourse roundabout area.

“Tramore’s ring road is approximately the same length as the Dungarvan Ring road but it still isn’t serviced with crossings. Must we wait for some hapless family to suffer the ultimate trauma of losing a child, because we cannot manage the money to finish our roads properly? ” he said.