KENNY WELCOMES NEW LUAS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY CAMPAIGN

Posted on October 9, 2014 11:46 AM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Labour TD Sean Kenny, a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, has welcomed the announcement of a new safety campaign aimed at pedestrians. It was launched by Transdev, the Luas operator with support from the Railway Procurement Agency and the Department of Transport.

"I have been continuously calling for more to be done in terms of the safety of pedestrians, and have called on transport authorities and pedestrians to play their part in this."

"There have been a number of fatalities in the vicinity of a Luas stops along the redline, most particularly in the area of Abbey Street. Given that both Luas lines run through areas of dense human traffic, it's important that city and transport authorities step up efforts to ensure crossings are made safer."

"The campaign message asks the following question - "Is being in a hurry or distracted really worth your life?" Transdev have released film footage that shows some very disturbing 'near misses' with pedestrians and it seems a lot of them were distracted by their mobile phones. It has been said that there have been 71 of these near misses this year alone."

"As I have said previously, Dublin can only function as a safe city if the various authorities and agencies step up and take decisive action. Pedestrians clearly have a role to play in this and I am very pleased indeed that a 'walk safety' campaign, which I have previously called for and discussed with transport authorities at the Oireachtas Transport Committee, has now been rolled out to raise awareness of the dangers which exist."