New pencil bollards outside Offaly school welcomed

New colourful pencil bollards installed outside Killeigh National School in Offaly were broadly welcomed by councillors at the October meeting of Tullamore Municipal District.

However, Councillor Aoife Masterson sounded a note of caution when she asked if the pencils were in keeping with the heritage of Killeigh Village.

Councillor Neil Feighery thanked Senior Engineer Joe Dooley for his work.

''They have made a huge difference in terms of safety, particularly for bus drivers. I do a lot of travelling and the colouring in terms of the pencil bollards are inline with colour schemes in schools across the county and country. They do have that way of impacting driver behaviours.It's important we recognise improvements, particularly for bus drivers who support the work.''

Councillor Shane Murray also congratulated Mr Dooley on the bollards. ''They are fantastic, they are used countrywide. They highlight the school. They are a huge help to the board of management in the school who are happy with it. Most of the residents are happy with them, there might be one or two that think they should be a different colour. I know it's only the first of traffic calming measures that are being put in out there. There is a bigger plan for that area, but we are getting phone calls from Killina, Arden View and St Philomena's schools about traffic and people's behaviour around the schools. It's all about the cars and people's driving behaviour.''

Councillor Aoife Masterson came back in, to clear up any misunderstanding.''It's not that I don't welcome the works in Killeigh, I find them fun and a great way to highlight when coming up to the school. I know there was a lot of work done there regarding heritage, there is no harm double checking. It's not to say the works are not welcome.

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Responding, Senior Executive Engineer, Joe Dooley said: ''I take your point on heritage. It was an interim measure. This was something we were approached about and asked to facilitate this school year. We had said we will produce a front of school design.We will consult with heritage and the heritage architect of the council. I'm well aware of the views of the bollards, but this was an interim measure to make the front of school safe for this year. A full design will be carried out. If a different type of bollard is acceptable by road safety standards that's fine. Pencil bollards are an interim measure, they are standard across the country and most people are happy with them, when we do a full and robust design all parties will be consulted,'' said Mr Dooley.