By Andy Spearman
Today, almost a decade after Donacarney School opened, news has emanated from Meath County Council that they have finally gone out to tender for the construction of the long-awaited footpath and cycle scheme.
It’s hard to believe that “the powers that be” could build a school in a rural area without providing a footpath and cycle lane for the children of that school to travel to and from school.
But that’s the way we do things in this country – common sense and joined up thinking seem to disappear out the window and everything takes so long to go through the various stages such as planning, funding applications and tendering. The building stage is usually the quickest.
Fair play to Bettystown Councillor Sharon Tolan though. Ever since her election in 2014 she has lobbied consistently for the provision of a footpath and cycle lane between Donacarney School and Bettystown Cross.
She has raised the issue at every council meeting and kept the pressure on engineers and the executive to deliver this vital piece of infrastructure.
“I am so delighted with this news” Cllr. Tolan said. “It has been the most frustrating project I have ever worked on, and unfortunately every obstacle was thrown at our Transportation team.
“I am relieved to say that they managed to overcome all the obstacles and design a really excellent scheme that will benefit the local community greatly, in both Bettystown and Donacarney.
“This scheme is not just for the hundreds of schoolchildren who desperately need a safe route to school, but it will also provide the community in Donacarney with a safe route to Bettystown.
“I am committed to continuing my work with our Transportation team, the Executive of Meath County Council and the NTA to ensure we have connectivity throughout East Meath and appropriate safety measures for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists and I will continue my work on delivering further schemes throughout the area.”
