Marino mums’ mission to make local roads safer for kids

Two Dublin mothers are on a mission to make the roads in Marino safer for kids.

Marian Kelly and Eva Cantwell, both local residents, have started a number of initiatives in the area in an attempt to get drivers to slow down and safety on the roads.

“We started the Go Slow in Marino Campaign and have been organising bike week events, poster competitions and family fun cycles, all to draw attention to the fact that Marino is a 30KM zone but very little motorists seems to be aware,” Eva Cantwell said.

The duo have also set up an online petition calling on Dublin City Council to install zebra crossings and safe barriers at green areas in the neighbourhood.

At the time of writing, the petition has 331 signatures.

“The beautiful garden city of Marino has not had its road markings updated in a long time,” the petition says.

“We acknowledge the imposed 30km speed limit which is a good measure but believe we need more safety measures.

“When people feel safe, they walk and cycle more which means less traffic congestion at our schools.

New suburbs have many zebra crossings and we would like the same for Marino – safe walking/cycling routes to our schools and safe play areas on the greens of Marino.

“We would like to slow traffic down and allow our children to cross safely and independently.”

Cantwell says that several planned events for children during the summer have been disrupted by speeding and rat running vehicles.

“We set up weekly Playing Out events during the summer in Marino.

“We don’t want our kids to be stuck inside,” she says.

“We are changing the location each week but only a few weeks in and we are quickly running out of safe places for our kids to play.

“We bought signs and put them on wheelie bins to try to slow down speeding cars but the situation has deteriorated since the roadworks along Clontarf Road and speed and volume of cars is shocking.

“The rat running is so bad it’s like playing beside a narrow motorway at times.

“This week we organised a rounders game in our local green.

“We had about 25 kids, they were delighted! However, cars were passing at 50/60Km an hour beside the green, it was scary.

“If a child ran out to catch a ball they would have very little chance of survival.”

Cantwell says that the community of Marino deserves a “long term initiative to manage traffic.

“We want Marino to be safe and sustainable for current and future generations.”