'You really are taking your life in your hands' at West Mayo junction

PARENTS of schoolchildren in Westport have launched a petition calling on Mayo County Council to reinstate a traffic warden at a busy pedestrian crossing on the N59, citing serious safety concerns following the removal of the position at the start of the 2025 school year.

Westport man Kieran Mulchrone uses the busy road every morning and told The Mayo News that “you really are taking your life in your hands going through that place in the morning.”

“On Monday, two kids ran out of Maxol, straight onto the pedestrian crossing, without looking. It’s not until someone gets hit that something is going to be done,” said Mr Mulchrone. 

The crossing at Scoil Phádraig serves more than 400 children, parents, and teachers from both the school and nearby Holy Trinity National School during peak drop-off and collection times. Parents say the absence of a warden, particularly during dark winter mornings, has created dangerous conditions for children crossing one of the main national primary routes into Westport.

One parent who does the school run describes the road as an “accident waiting to happen,” noting there has been a traffic warden at the location since the 1980s, and the road “has gotten a lot busier since then.”

Claire Murtagh, a parent from the Home School Association of Scoil Phádraig, which represents parents and guardians of children attending the school, expressed concern about visibility issues during winter months: “In the winter time, it’s a hazard. Even, on the best day, you’re not really going to spot a seven year old ahead. And if somebody sees the green light and they’re rushing for the green light, they’re not really going to be taking kids across the road into consideration.”

Ms Murtagh also highlighted inadequate signage in the area: “Not everybody even knows that this is a school zone. There’s a small yellow sign and a speed indicator that is solar powered but it doesn’t work in the morning from November to March. So people could be coming into Westport,on the national primary route, and not even realise that they’re passing by two primary schools.”

The Mayo News has highlighted the removal of the school traffic warden a number of times in these pages.

READ MORE: Mayo among three counties with no school traffic wardens

Traffic survey

IN a bid to further highlight the issue, parents conducted their own traffic survey to gather evidence.

The survey, conducted from Monday to Friday last week during morning drop-off (8.15am to 9.15am), revealed significant traffic volumes.

On Tuesday, traffic was at a standstill almost 60 percent of the time, with congestion backing up along Newport Road past the turn-off to Westport GAA club. The survey also documented multiple instances of vehicles failing to stop for children already on the crossing.

Padraig Keane, another parent from the Home School Association, emphasised that the warden would only be needed during specific hours: “It’s only one hour in the morning peak, from 8.15am, to 9.15 am and probably from 2.15pm to 2.45pm but it’s literally an hour and a half each day. Outside those hours, the footfall of people is not the same and there aren’t as many children, which is the biggest concern here.”

Principals voice concerns

SCHOOL Principal of Scoil Phádraig, Fergus Seoighe, told The Mayo News that lots of parents have raised the issue with him, and he wants to see the school traffic warden reinstated.

“We’re dealing with children, and the safety of the children is the most important thing. It’s very important that we get somebody back, because children are children, and with the best will in the world, they’ll try to be careful crossing the road, but they do need that extra care of having somebody there. It is a very, very busy road,” he said.

Principal of Holy Trinity National School, Orla Brickenden, said that the school has “had no meaningful engagement with Mayo County Council at this stage, only an acknowledgement of our concerns.”

She is asking the Council to “act responsibly and reinstate a traffic warden on the Newport Road, as the safety of children must be a priority for all. We reiterate that we have the utmost respect and regard for the traffic wardens, as they provide an excellent service in all weathers to keep our children safe.”

Ms Brickenden added: “The Newport Road is a dangerous road with traffic coming from all directions. We have been in contact with Mayo County Council seeking the return of this service. The council workers who provide this service deserve our utmost respect and support.”

Traffic flow concerns

PARENTS highlight that a school traffic warden helps with traffic flow whilst managing children crossing the road at regular intervals. At present, it’s a constant crossing at school time, creating traffic backup across the town - over the Mall, up Castlebar Street, up James Street, and the Newport Road.

Scoil Phádraig operates as a ‘Park and Stride’ school, designed so that parents cannot access the school grounds by car. 

“It’s supposed to be smarter travel within the planning permission for the school to be located here. That’s why we don’t have a set down area or parking for the parents. We’re encouraged to park anywhere in Westport and to walk to school,” Ms Murtagh explained.

The school has smarter travel parking permits allowing parents to park in James Street car park, the Lidl car park, and on the Mall for free for 20 minutes in the mornings to enable them and their children to walk to school.

The schools are situated on the N59 adjacent to a busy service station and and one of the town’s major supermarkets. Cars accelerating in and out of the petrol station create further traffic interactions on the busy junction.

Council response and political pressure

MAYO County Council initially stated it was “currently no longer in a position to provide a member of staff in the Westport Zone as a school traffic warden,” and that it was liaising with the principals of both schools.

Following the issue being raised at a local council meeting, Mayo County Council has since updated its position, saying it “continues to liaise with the principals of Scoil Phádraig and Holy Trinity Schools and is exploring options to address this matter.”

Mayo County Council no longer employs any school traffic wardens. In correspondence with The Mayo News, the Council stated that it “did not provide School Traffic Wardens in the Castlebar Municipal District, Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District, or the Ballina Municipal District in the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.”

Safety statistics

PARENTS note that traffic volume on the route has increased since the opening of the new N5. They also cite Road Safety Authority data showing that 89 percent of serious pedestrian injuries occur on urban roads, with the highest number – 12 perncet - happening in December. One-fifth of seriously injured pedestrians are children aged 0-15 years.

The role of school traffic wardens is legislated under Section 96 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. Under this law, drivers must stop—and remain stopped—when a school traffic warden displays their stop sign. Failure to do so carries a fine of €160 and two penalty points.

The data and petition will be submitted to Mayo County Council and the Road Safety Authority.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme