COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, April 13, 2026
MOTION NO. 3
MOTION: Councillor C. Brady
That this Council requests the Chief Executive examine traffic management at schools in the area and report on whether a new role dedicated to traffic management and direction may be trialled, or what alternative options may be considered, including the potential reassignment of traffic wardens to these areas during peak school times.
REPORT:
The Chief Executive acknowledges the concerns raised regarding traffic management at school locations, particularly during peak morning and afternoon periods. Traffic conditions at schools can vary significantly depending on factors such as location, catchment, surrounding street environment, school size, start and finish times, and the availability (or otherwise) of off-street set-down and pick-up facilities.
There are a range of traffic-management and road-safety interventions provided in the vicinity of schools across the County. These include Active Travel initiatives, special speed limits, pedestrian and School Warden-assisted crossings, Safe Routes to School measures, Safe School Zones, Road Safety education and promotion, and other targeted traffic and road-safety improvements.
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a national programme designed to make it safer and easier for students to walk, cycle, scoot, and wheel to school. It is coordinated by An Taisce in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA), and supported by the Department of Transport and the Department of Education. The programme has three core aims:
- to accelerate the delivery of sustainable and active transport infrastructure on key access routes to schools;
- to provide front-of-school safety treatments; and
- to increase sustainable transport parking provision at schools.
Safe School Zones are designated areas at the front of schools where specific road-safety and traffic-management measures are introduced to create a safer environment for children walking, cycling, wheeling or scooting to school. These typically include front-of-school treatments designed to improve safety and to reduce vehicle drop-offs and pick-ups. The SDCC Active Travel continue to roll out the Safe School Zones and SRTS programmes. Currently SDCC are in the process of delivering Round 3 of SRTS, of which the following schools are involved; Sacred Heart SNS, Glenasmole NS, Scoil Aine Naofa, St Thomas JNS , Scoil Naom Aine. The Outline Delivery Reports have been received from An Taisce, and there has been engagement with representatives from the schools. Glenasmole and Sacred Heart SNS will hopefully be completed in the summer. The design of Scoil Aine Naofa, Scoil Naomh Aine and St Thomas will be tendered out and that tender will be published within the next week.
The Safe School Zones programme of works for 2026 includes Solas Chriost NS, Scoil Nano Nagle, Talbot NS, St Peter the Apostle NS, St Aidan's SNS and St Martin de Porres NS.
The School Warden Scheme supports primary school children to cross public roads safely on their way to and from school. School Wardens are employees of the Council and are assigned to specific, appointed crossing points. Requests for School Wardens are carefully assessed against defined criteria, including the technical suitability of the location, road layout, child pedestrian volumes, traffic volumes and speeds, and overall road-safety risk. It continues to be challenging to recruit and retain School Wardens, and services are currently delivered within the approved complement of posts.
Speed Limits, including time-specific limits associated with school opening and closing times, are also applied where appropriate as part of wider traffic-calming and safety measures.
Our Road Safety Officer is responsible for promoting road safety, delivering education and awareness programmes, and coordinating local road-safety initiatives. This role involves close collaboration with the Road Safety Authority, An Garda Síochána, the HSE, emergency services, schools, community groups, and elected members.
New schools are required to give careful consideration at planning and design stage to how children, parents and staff arrive at and move around the school environment, with measures incorporated to minimise risk and align with safe systems principles and other agency interventions.
In addition, the Council’s wider transport and land-use objectives – including the delivery of Cycle South Dublin, the promotion of transport-oriented growth, the planning and phasing of new schools in tandem with population growth and continued engagement with public transport operators and agencies – all contribute to encouraging modal shift away from private car use. In parallel, the Traffic team continue to deliver new pedestrian crossings and junction improvements, together with walking and cycling infrastructure, to support safer active travel and to reduce traffic pressure at school locations.
Traffic Wardens are responsible for enforcing parking and traffic-related regulations to ensure the safe and orderly use of public roads, from our perspective, primarily in Pay & Display areas as defined in the 2021 Control of Parking Bye Laws. Traffic Wardens are not Council employees; parking enforcement services are delivered through a procured contract with a third-party operator. Traffic Wardens are therefore not assigned to school traffic-management functions, and their reassignment for such purposes would not align with existing contractual or budget arrangements.
It should also be noted that the Council operates within an approved Strategic Workforce Plan, with staffing numbers sanctioned at national level. Any proposal to create a new role or increase staffing beyond the approved establishment would require external approval, which cannot be assumed.
In summary, having regard to the extensive range of existing and emerging school-related traffic management and road-safety measures already in place, it is not proposed to introduce a new role specifically dedicated to traffic management at schools. We remain committed to improving road safety in the vicinity of schools and will continue to address school-related traffic issues through existing Traffic Management Meetings, Road Safety initiatives, and targeted interventions where appropriate. We also remain committed to encouraging modal shift away from the private car and making active travel to schools more attractive.