Debate contribution: Public Petition: Ashgrove Roundabout: Safe Crossing for Children

Debate contribution by Miss Nuala McAllister on 6 May 2025.

MLA

Miss Nuala McAllister

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

6 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Assembly Business

Heading

Public Petition: Ashgrove Roundabout: Safe Crossing for Children

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4929291

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am delighted to present this petition to you on behalf of the school council at Ashgrove Primary School in my constituency. The petition has been signed by over 600 people, including parents of school pupils and members of the local community. It requests that the Department for Infrastructure installs a safe pedestrian crossing at Ashgrove roundabout. The petition is titled, 'Deliver Safe Crossing at Ashgrove Roundabout to Protect School Kids and Public'. The request came directly from the pupils who make up the school council in that primary school. They raised their concerns about their safety and that of their fellow pupils to me. They have to cross the road at the roundabout twice daily to attend school and return home. They invited me to walk to school with them early one morning and to see the roundabout. We arrived at 8.20 am, and, upon crossing the road, I found straightaway that it was a very dangerous situation. The school council joined me on 21 November at a meeting with Department for Infrastructure officials at the site to show them just how difficult the situation can be. The pupils were very eloquent in articulating the issues, and, indeed, they had their own options for a safe crossing. Doing that is quite difficult for any person, be they an adult or a child, so for the children to assess the situation and come up with their own design is applaudable. I am sure that, as elected reps, we all understand that, while we can make arguments for particular requests, one would struggle to find a stronger argument than seeing primary-school children in high-vis vests, explaining the dangers that they face from that busy stretch of road, which mean that they often have to dash between cars.

It is disappointing that the Department for Infrastructure's response so far has been that there is not enough traffic or that there has yet to be an accident at the site. That does not justify not installing a safe crossing. Whilst I understand the budgetary pressures that all Departments are under, primary-school pupils should not be required to put themselves in danger each day simply to receive an education, and they should not have to wait until an incident occurs and someone gets injured or worse for action to be taken. The campaign has been a fantastic example of how children and young people can come together over a common cause to demand improvements in their local community. I thank the school council and school community of Ashgrove Primary School for their commitment to it. I also thank the wider community, the over 600 people who took the time to sign the petition and everyone who shared it on social media and with friends and family. The number of responses shows the strength of feeling in the community about the need to ensure the safety of pupils at the local primary school.

492 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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