Scoil Iognáid Update, September 2023
The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programme is working with schools and local authorities across Ireland to support improvements to front of school environments as well as routes to school. Scoil Iognáid is delighted to be participating in the SRTS programme. More information on the programme can be found here: https://greenschoolsireland.org/saferoutestoschool/
The School Street at Scoil Iognáid has been in operation since May 2022, starting initially as an informal school street with parents / guardians asked to voluntarily avoid driving to the school at school start and finish times and building up to a formal school street with statutory signage in place.
The School Street has been successful in reducing issues facing residents previously, such as school traffic blocking entrances to homes, and contributed to an increase in students walking, cycling, and scooting to school.
To support the existing School Street at Scoil Iognáid, Galway City Council (GCC) will be commencing works on 18th September for the Scoil Iognáid SRTS scheme.
The works include:
•Narrowing of carriageway width and widening of pedestrian footways.
•School gateway treatment with contrasting surface finish, signage and coloured circles fronting the school.
•Reintroduction of pencil bollards in front of the school.
•Upgrade to road marking and signage. Rigid bollards at residential areas to discourage parking on footways.
•Junction tightening and upgrade to crossings at 4 no. locations.
The expected duration for the works at the Front of School is 12 weeks.
All other junctions will be delivered independently.
You can view the drawings for Scoil Iognáid below:
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- Scoil Iognáid School Zone – Public Consultation May 2022
- School Streets is One - Daily Car Use down by 14%, as Kids Walk, Scoot and Bike on Car-Free Street!
- School Streets - Parents, Guardians & Community Survey April 2021
- School Streets Launch November 2020
- Park and Stride - Pay and Display On-Street Parking
- Consultation - Pedestrianisation of Palmyra Park, Palmyra Avenue and Raleigh Row
Public Consultation Feedback Report - September 2022
The Public Consultation Outcome Report, detailing the feedback received, consultations undertaken and the ‘Next Steps’ is now available.
Download the Public Consultation Feedback Report here
Outline Delivery Plan - April/May 2022
In April /May 2022, an Taisce’s Green School Infrastructure Officer, in conjunction with the school representatives, agreed the Outline Delivery Plan for interventions to be investigated and progressed as part of the SRTS Programme for the Scoil Iognaid, by Galway City Council in conjunction with the National Transport Authority.
Download the Outline Delivery Plan here
Scoil Iognáid School Zone – Public Consultation May 2022
Introduction
As part of the Safe Routes to School programme, Galway City Council is engaging with the school community of Scoil Iognáid to develop a ‘front of school’ design to make it safer for children walking, cycling and scooting to school. The design will also benefit residents and commuters walking and cycling through their neighbourhood.
99% of Scoil Iognáid parents/ guardians support works at the front of school that improve student safety, putting pedestrians and cyclists first.
99% of parents/guardians would support works that improve the walking and cycling routes to the school.
(Parents & Guardians Travel Survey 2021)
When parents/ guardians in Scoil Iognáid were asked what improvement would support children to walk, cycle or scoot to school, the most frequently requested changes were:
- New/improved cycle paths (83%)
- Safer crossing points (78%)
- New/improved footpaths (62%)
- Reduced traffic speed (57%)
Galway City Council has developed a design to address concerns expressed by parents/ guardians, and is inviting public feedback on the proposals.
What is proposed at Scoil Iognáid?
A ‘School Zone’s design has been developed for Scoil Iognáid, based on the national Safe Routes to School design guidance, and engagement with the school. The design also incorporates design guidance such as the National Cycle Manual and the Design Manual for Urban Streets.
Elements Proposed:
- Pencil bollards to prevent parking on footpaths where children are walking
- Road markings highlighting the school to drivers
- Continuous Footways giving ‘visual priority’ to pedestrians and slowing cars down
- Tighter junctions making the junction shorter for children to cross
- Double yellow lines to discourage parked cars blocking traffic/ children’s line of sight
- New/ repaired/ wider footpaths
- Pedestrian crossings and anti-skid surfacing
You can view the drawings for Scoil Iognáid here
A ‘talk through’ presentation of the drawing can be viewed here
Leaflet with images of Elements Proposed
School Streets Pilot Project 2020/2021 - Final Report
Download the School Streets Pilot Project 2020/2021 Final Report here
School Streets is One - Daily Car Use down by 14%, as Kids Walk, Scoot and Bike on Car-Free Street!
(29.11.2021) Galway City Council is delighted to celebrate one year of the School Streets pilot at Scoil Iognáid - where daily car use has reduced by 14%, and more children are walking (+11%), scooting (+3%) and cycling (+7%) on a daily basis. Staff report children arriving to school more ready to learn, with an improved atmosphere and reduced stress at the school gate. Parents and the wider community report a better walking and cycling environment, improved access and community spirit. This project is funded by the National Transport Authority, and delivered with the support of the Green-Schools Travel programme, An Garda Siochána, and the wider school community.
Galway based TD and Minister of State in the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton T.D. said “the report published by Galway City Council today is incredibly encouraging. The findings enclosed will inform us on how we can further boost and facilitate increased levels of children taking a healthier and greener mode of transport to and from school every day. Earlier this year I launched a new programme, Safe Routes to School, which is investing in safe walking, cycling and scooting infrastructure on the lead up to and entrances of our schools. The programme aims to deliver, and is delivering, results just like those we can see from this School Streets pilot. I very much look forward to building on the progress made with schools in Galway and further afield in the months and years ahead.”
Commenting on the School Streets pilot turning one, Patrick Greene, Director of Services, Galway City Council commented, “The National Transport Authority identifies the front of school as the place where children congregate in the greatest numbers and where they are most vulnerable to indiscriminate parking practices, hazardous crossing conditions and air quality issues from idling cars. The School Streets pilot at Scoil Iognáid has created a space where children as young as four and five are scooting and cycling with their older classmates, as they arrive into school. Galway City Council is now looking to progress ’Safe Routes to School’ and ‘School Zones’ at more schools in the city – these designs will create a safer front of school environment for children, and if any opportunities arise to deliver School Streets, or ‘traffic free’ streets, Galway City Council welcome the opportunity to explore this with the school community.”
The full report from the public consultation on April/ May 2021 is available to download here.
School Streets - Parents, Guardians & Community Survey April 2021
In 2020 Scoil Iognáid, Raleigh Row, became the first pilot ‘School Streets’ project in Galway, and the first city centre School Streets project in the country. A ‘School Street’ is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop off and pick up times – creating a safer, calmer space for children, parents and residents to walk, scoot or cycle.
As this is a pilot, and the first of its kind, Galway City Council and the National Transport Authority are keen to learn from this pilot – what worked and what didn’t work so well.
Residents and businesses in the area around Scoil Iognáid, and Parents/ Guardians with children in the school, are now invited to share their thoughts on the pilot to date.
The first 100 survey respondents will receive a free coffee/tea voucher for a local coffee shop and there’s a fantastic prize draw to win one of two Samsung tablets or one of three Huawei fitness trackers!
Fill in the survey -
I am resident/ part of the wider school community
Survey closes on Friday 21st of May 2021
Accessibility – if you can’t access the digital version of the survey, but wish to respond, please contact us to request a paper version at roads@galwaycity.ie or 091 536 400
Prize Draw Terms and Conditions
Scoil Iognáid take to the School-Streets!
Galway School becomes the First City-Centre ‘School Streets’ Project in Ireland
(30.11.2020) School children and parents in Scoil Iognáid in Galway City Centre took to the streets today, in celebration of Galway’s first ‘School Streets’ pilot project. A ‘School Street’ is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop off and pick up times – creating a safer, calmer space for children, parents and residents to walk, scoot or cycle. The pilot was launched today by Mayor of Galway City Council, Mike Cubbard, and Minister Hildegarde Naughton of the Department of Transport, with hundreds of families joining to create the first city-centre School Streets project in Ireland. This project is funded by the National Transport Authority, and delivered with the support of the Green-Schools Travel programme, An Garda Siochána, and the wider school community.
As part of the pilot project, Palmyra Row, Palmyra Avenue and Raleigh Row will be pedestrianised from Monday 30th November during the school pick up and drop off times (Monday to Friday, 8.15am to 9.15am and 1.15pm to 2.45pm, during school term times only). Residents will still have access to their homes during these times, as will cyclists or ‘blue badge’ holders accessing the school.
Brendan McGrath, Chief Executive of Galway City Council, commented, “Galway City Council is delighted to partner with Scoil Iognáid for this pilot project, with fantastic initiative shown by the parents, children and teachers in the school. The engagement, support and buy-in of the wider community – including the residents on the three pedestrianised streets - has been heartening. We look forward to learning from this pilot, with a view to engaging with more schools in Galway City. The support of the National Transport Authority, and the experience of Fingal County Council from their School Streets project in Malahide, has been most welcome in this regard”.
Speaking about the launch, Michael Aherne, of the National Transport Authority, commented, “The NTA are delighted to fund and support the Scoil Iognáid School Streets project. We congratulate Galway City Council on the initiative, recognising the support and involvement of multiple stakeholders, including An Taisce Green-Schools Travel, parents, elected members, an Garda Siochána and the school itself. The space outside the school gate, where high numbers of children and young people converge, can often be chaotic and dangerous. This important scheme demonstrates how that space can be managed differently, placing people as the priority with safety, community and environmental benefits. This is the first School Street pilot located within a city centre environment, and includes other integrated complementary elements such as Park-and-Stride (initiated earlier this year), and new road layouts, scheduled to follow early in 2021 under the NTA’s Sustainable Transport Measures Grant Programme. The implementation of this scheme will inform the delivery of similar projects across Ireland in 2021 and thereafter.”
Minister Hildegarde Naughton of the Department of Transport welcomed the announcement saying "I want to congratulate everyone involved in delivering Ireland's first city-centre 'School Streets' project. This project showcases great leadership shown by the team at Scoil Iognáid, the pupils, parents, Galway City Council and wider community. Together they are setting a great example to other cities and communities nationwide to deliver 'Safe Routes to School' for our children, a new initiative I am leading from within the Department of Transport. I look forward to continuing to support this project, and many others of its kind, in the months and years ahead".
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Park and Stride - Pay and Display On-Street Parking
As part of the School Streets Pilot in Scoil Iognáid, on-street ‘Pay and Display’ parking inside the circle on the map is included in Park and Stride (please see the leaflet for map).
To use on-street parking, Parents/Guardians must be registered for Park and Stride, with a pink Park and Stride permit on display.
All other terms and conditions applying to the Park and Stride scheme apply.
Scoil Iognaid Park and Stride Leaflet ENGLISH August 2022
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Consultation in regard to the proposed Pedestrianisation of Palmyra Park, Palmyra Avenue and Raleigh Row, as part of a ‘School Streets’ pilot in Scoil Iognáid, Raleigh Row
Update November 2020 - Consultation is now closed. Many thanks to all for their submissions and participation.
Galway City Council in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 45 - (1) to (3) of SI No. 182/1997 - Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) regulations 1997, and in the interests of public safety, hereby gives notice of its intention to pedestrianise Palmyra Park, Palmyra Avenue and Raleigh Row, as part of a ‘School Streets’ pilot in Scoil Iognáid, Raleigh Row, for the hours specified below: -
- Monday to Friday, during school term times only
- Commencing 2nd November 2020, until 25th June 2021 inclusive
- 8.15am to 9.15am
- Original proposal - 2.00pm to 3.00pm. Amended proposal following consultation - 1.15pm to 2.45pm
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Signage
The supplementary plates proposed by Galway City Council will be the timings plate and 2 no. Exception plates one for "Except Cyclists" and the other for "Except Local Access".
All signs are proposed in line with Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual, with the exception of the replacement of the word ‘pedestrianised zone’ to ‘school zone’.
As part of the School Streets pilot, Galway City Council is proposing a number of infrastructure improvements in the area, with funding from the National Transport Authority. These improvements will take place over the course of the pilot, and beyond.
Drawing - Scoil Iognaid - Phase 1 Updated PM times 15.10.2020.pdfDrawing - Scoil Iognaid - Phase 1.pdf
Read the GCC School Streets Consultation Summary 02022021.pdf (published 02.02.2021)
Download our brochure for parents, guardians and the school community to find out more about our proposal, including project benefits