Reducing speed limit on Mayo local roads is not working claim councillor

MAYO councillors have claimed that the default reduction of speed limits on local roads around the county have made no difference in reducing accidents and deaths on the roads.

The speed limits along all local roads around Ireland were reduced from 80km per hour to a default speed limit of 60km per hour on February 7 despite strong opposition from local councillors who said they were never consulted about the changes.

The matter was raised at the Roads and Sustainable Travel Strategic Policy Committee meeting where an update on changes to the speed limit in urban areas was outlined by council officials. 

Conrad Harley, Acting Head of Roads with Mayo County Council explained that the proposal is to introduce a 30km per hour speed limit in urban areas but unlike local roads, there will not be a default nationwide introduction and each local authority will bring in by-laws in each of the municipal districts.

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Ballinrobe-based councillor Damien Ryan welcomed the introduction of by-laws but felt it showed that the Department of Transport officials got it wrong regarding the default speed limit changes on local roads but did not want to admit it.

The Fianna Fáil councillor said that reducing the speed limit on all local roads has not worked and local councillors and engineers as well as An Garda Siochana should be part of the process on speed limit reductions.

“The department has not got it right. All they have to do is look at what came in on February 7 and what has happened since. The statistics haven't improved,” he said.

“This nonsense of a default speed limit is a top down approach. We got it with the local roads, the statistics since the change came to speak for themselves. They have made no difference. We always said if what we had was enforced was the formula to solve this and not a load of nonsense to get a load of signs made up coming with a huge cost and no enforcement.

“There were roads which needed adjusting but every MD [Municipal District] and and the county at large should have been allowed to make the recommendations based on best practice and the statistics around accidents and where the accidents were happening. An Garda Siochana should have been around the table when we were making those decisions but that did not happen and we are still into this rigmarole of these default speed limits.

“It needs to go back to senior management that the department officials don't know what goes on in Mayo better than the 30 public representatives that represent the county,” he told the meeting.

His views were supported by other members of the SPC who agreed that investment in the road infrastructure was the best way to reduce deaths on roads.

Cllr Patsy O'Brien told the meeting that the reduction of the speed limit on local roads was farcical and it was done without the consent of the Mayo councillors.

“I think it was a kneejerk reaction to accidents but we have had many accidents since and at the end of the day only enforcement and investment will save lives," the Independent councillor commented.

Claremorris-based Independent councillor Richard Finn said that 'bureaucrats' in Dublin cannot be allowed to dictate to people in the west of Ireland how they live and any changes in the speed limit should have been left to the local councillors and engineers to decide.

Director of Services, Tom Gilligan told the meeting that the introduction of the speed limit changes was a national issue which the local authority had to deal with the best it could. However he added that in some cases it was not fit for purpose and did not deal with some issues in Mayo.