Cork councillor questions delay in turning on pedestrian crossing lights outside school

A Cork city councillor has asked why the council is waiting on an electricity connection for a set of pedestrian crossing lights, four months after construction was completed on them.

Construction of the signalised pedestrian crossing, which is located on the Old Youghal Rd, was completed by Cork County Council before Christmas — three years after funding of €135,000 was approved by the council’s local area committee.

The lights are situated outside Scoil Cara Junior School, which caters for children with additional needs.

Responding to a query by The Echo this week, a spokesperson for Cork City Council rejected the suggestion by Labour Party councillor John Maher that the project had been delayed for three years.

The council stated that €135,000 had been assigned to the project by the North-East LEA in 2021, an allocation that permitted the commencement of statutory processes — including public consultation, the procurement of a consultant, and design work — to be “progressed” in 2021 and 2022.

The procurement of a contractor was secured in 2023, and construction started in October 2023, with substantial work completed before Christmas, they said.

“However, before the new lights can be switched on, an ESB connection is required to both operate the lights and facilitate inspection and testing of same to ensure the lights are in proper working order.”

They added that Cork City Council was “currently engaging with and awaiting the ESB connection”.

Beggared belief

Mr Maher said it beggared belief that the need for an electricity supply was still an issue four months after construction of the lights had been completed.

“I just don’t understand how, when they put the job out to tender, the council doesn’t seem to have factored in things like the need for an electricity supply. You would have to ask the question: Is this a problem on the council’s side or on ESB?”

Cara Junior School is a special school for pupils aged 4-12 years who have a dual diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and an intellectual disability. It currently has 72 students, 12 teachers, and 37 special needs assistants.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said: “When planning and designing new traffic infrastructure, one of the key early actions undertaken is the identification of the presence or not of a suitable electrical supply to which the new infrastructure can be connected.

“Cork City Council can confirm that an application for a power supply connection has been made and a connection agreement is in place with the ESB.

“[The council] is now awaiting ESB networks to activate the new connection, which will then allow Cork City Council to progress the works to final completion.”

The ESB was asked for a comment.