Council can"t afford crossing where Eden school girl knocked down

An eight-year-old primary school pupil from Edenderry was knocked down near her school on Tuesday evening in an area where town councillors want a pedestrian crossing. The young girl, who is a pupil of Edenderry Convent NS, was not seriously injured. The accident happened on the School Lane outside of school hours. The level of traffic around the school area has been a concern to many parents and the school principal. However Offaly County Council does not have funding available to provide a safe pedestrian crossing on School Lane. Cllr Noel Cribbin said the sooner the one-way system on School Lane was introduced the better, as currently the school traffic caused 'pandemonium'. Cllr John Quinlan asked for a pedestrian crossing to be put in place on School Lane at Wednesday"s town council meeting. But Area Engineer Damien Grennan said there was currently no funding available for a pedestrian crossing but that the one-way system should help matters. Cllr Brian Carroll said he met the school principal along with Mr Grennan to discuss safety concerns only a few weeks ago. The principal wanted to put a barrier across the school entrance, to prevent cars from going in. The council will also paint double-yellow lines along School Lane to prevent cars parking on footpaths and causing congestion.