Cars blocking paths a risk to schoolchildren

FOOTPATHS being blocked by parked cars near Greenmount national school are a “safety concern”, according to Councillor Mick Finn.
A parent contacted Cllr Finn about cars parking on the junction of Green Street and Desmond Square, providing pictures that show cars completely blocking the walkways.
The parked cars mean pedestrians, including children and parents pushing prams, have to step out on the road to pass buy.
“It’s quite a busy junction. It’s a busy area in the mornings and evenings, with people going to college and work,” said Cllr Finn.
He has brought the issue to the attention of Cork City Council’s traffic division.
To solve the problem, they would either have to block the path off, or turn it into a residential or disc parking area.
“It’s a bit of an aberration, at the moment. It’s not marked as a disc area. People can just come in and park there whenever they want,” he said. This has meant that people wishing to avoid parking fees, possibly commuters or students, are using the area for free parking.”
Cllr Finn said that turning it into a disc parking area would put time limits on how long people could park there, while making it a residential parking area would limit it to locals only.
The safety problem has become a concern for parents who walk their children to school, as the cars force them out onto a busy junction.
“The school is about 150 metres away. They have been encouraging parents to walk their kids to school, but this is obviously a safety concern,” he said.
He added that the issue was not caused by the school, and hoped that the council would rectify it soon.