Sinead calls for Council to review all speed limits in the County

Fine Gael Councillor Sinead Sheppard has called for a full review of speed limits currently in place in County Cork. She made her remarks today, on foot of the launch of a new document entitled ‘Guidelines for Setting and Managing Speed Limits’, which has been produced by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD.

“This document provides advice and guidance to those charged with responsibility for speed limits across the country, including the local authorities,” Councillor Sheppard explained. “With this document for reference, now is an opportune time for Local Authority Engineers to audit the speed limits currently in operation in County Cork. It is likely that some changes need to be made – either increasing the speed limit on quieter roads in good condition, or reducing it on poorer quality roads. We need to ensure that greater consistency is applied where speed limits are concerned. It is also recommended that speed reviews be carried out every five years.

Today’s Guidelines address a number of areas and sees the introduction of new road signage to deal with speed limits in rural areas on minor local roads and for the implementation of new urban ‘Slow Zones’ in residential areas to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h. They are also relevant to An Garda Síochána, who must be consulted in relation to any proposed bye-law applying a special speed limit; the National Roads Authority, who must consent to a Special Speed Limit on a National Road or motorway and to other interested parties such as the Road Safety Authority, the general public and motoring organisations

Key points addressed in the Guidelines include:-
– New criteria for setting speed limits for rural and urban roads
– This will be based primarily on road width in rural areas
– In urban areas it will be based on movement function (arterial road, link road, local road) and place context (commercial centres, suburban housing areas, out of town industrial areas).

New rural speed limit sign
This generic sign is the ‘white circle with black diagonal stripes’ which is in use internationally. Its use is recommended on narrow country roads instead of the numerical 80km/h sign. This sign means that drivers must use their judgement when using the road in question but must not exceed 80km/h in any event. The new alternative ‘rural speed limit’ sign is being supported by an associated Road Safety Authority awareness campaign.
New Urban ‘Slow Zones’ (30km/h) for housing estates
Local Authorities and community groups are encouraged to consider the implementation of ‘Slow Zones’ in self-contained areas that consist of local roads with low traffic volumes and minimal through traffic. It is envisaged that each such zone should be a self-enforcing, reduced-speed area with speed bumps, markings or other traffic calming treatments as required. They should be developed and implemented as a local authority supported, community based approach to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h and to add safety measures within a select area in order to change driver behaviour. The ultimate goal of a ‘Slow Zone’ is to lower the incidence and severity of crashes and to enhance quality of life. New signage is also being unveiled tomorrow to support Slow Zones.

“A speed limit is the maximum speed at which vehicles may legally travel on a section of road between speed limit signs. Nobody knows our area’s roads as well as the County Engineer and I would urge the commencement of a review at the soonest opportunity. That said, it is the responsibility of a driver to obey speed limits at all times – and a speed limit should never be seen as a target speed for drivers.” the Councillor concluded.