Traffic congestion outside school prompts local concern

HEALTH and safety concerns around serious traffic congestion close to St Conor’s Primary School in Omagh at peak times of the morning and afternoon have prompted calls for action to resolve the situation.

While a series of ‘soft’ measures have been taken by the school to try and ease the jams, principal, Katrina McGettigan, says they would welcome interest from the Department for Infrastructure Roads Service and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to permanently address the long-standing issue.

“I acknowledge the long-standing issue of traffic management and parking outside the school, particularly at drop-off and pick-up times,” she said.

“I acknowledge the efforts of those parents who are walking their children to school, parents who park on the Tamlaght Road and whose children walk across the play park to the
crossing patrol at the front of the school and parents who drop their children off without parking.

“All of these efforts are helping to improve the situation and make the area in front of the school safer for children, parents and road users at drop-off and pick-up times.

“However, the issue of traffic management and parking is a wider issue and it remains a health and safety concern for local residents, as well as for the school community.”
Omagh town councillor, Barry McElduff, described the congestion as ‘probably among the worst’ locally at those peak morning and afternoon times.

“The school has introduced a series of measures to try and address the situation, but I want to see the Roads Service and council working together to address this problem in a more permanent way,” he said.

“At the moment, parents and grandparents who are leaving pupils off at the school and collecting them on a daily basis are finding it extremely difficult to find a space.

“I know some even arrive 45 minutes early to try and ensure that they get one,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said it would be attending a meeting to discuss the issue.