Editorial: Solution must be found for Newtown area's school parking woes 

Frustrations over school drop-offs and collections in the Newtown area of Waterford City is a long-running saga.

The Parish of St Joseph and Benildus has had to take the unprecedented step of acquiring professional consultants to carry out a risk assessment, such was their concern for safety at their small church car park. As a result, the car park has now been closed to parents who previously used it during school drop-off and collection times.

Parish Priest Fr Liam Power has equally been active and vocal in bringing forward potential solutions. He addressed a meeting at the Woodlands Hotel last week, which was attended by parents, members of the Parish, Council representatives and others.

Numerous suggestions were put on the table.

The area around Newtown Road and the People's Park has long faced traffic woes due to the presence of numerous schools in the area, including De La Salle College, Waterpark Primary and Secondary Schools, and Newtown Primary and Secondary schools.

Some of the suggestions were quite novel, including a river taxi - not a bad idea, and one that harkens back to times gone by when a river ferry was used to cross the River Suir to Ferrybank.  

Others were perhaps more realistic in the short-term, such as acquiring a vacant site for use as a car park. 

The suggestion of a dedicated walking/cycling trail fits well with the push towards more sustainable methods of active travel.  

It must now become a priority of Waterford City and County Council that a workable solution is finally found, even if that is a short-term measure to alleviate pressure on the congested area - and safeguard, in particular, the young people impacted. 

Garvaghy Road

Unbearable grief and trauma is the story of thousands of mothers, fathers and families in Northern Ireland. The peace process was a miracle of people from both sides working together; the long, arduous path before and since has been a miracle of people from both sides. 

Generations have grown up in peace, something that in the 1990s and the horrific decades prior, would not have been believed possible.

That is why what is happening this week on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, over the Orange Order Drumcree parade - following a highly concerning decision by the Parades Commission - is so serious.

The trauma of 'The Troubles' has not gone away, but people have found a path forward despite all that. 

People North and South have a responsibility to maintaining peace. It is a job of work that is never done, and it is the enduring most important work of our modern history.