Merits of new speed limit review called into question by Wexford councillors – ‘There’s only one direction road deaths are going and that’s up’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Following a year in which road deaths increased nationally by 8 pc details of the government’s latest plans to reduce speed limits across Co Wexford have been revealed. The first phase of the review, completed in February of last year, saw the default speed limit in rural areas reduced from 80kmh to 60kmh, and now the Department of Transport (DOT) has outlined its intentions to improve road safety yet further.

The second phase of the proposed speed limit changes will see speed limits reduced to 30kmh in built-up and urban areas throughout Co Wexford. Prior to enacting these changes, Wexford County Council (WCC) will conduct a review of all existing speed limits in the county and determine the appropriate speed limit on all roads within these built-up and urban areas in accordance with the procedures and criteria set out by the DOT.

The third phase will see a review of speed limits on national secondary roads in the county (including the N80 from Scarawalsh to Bunclody) with a proposal to reduce speeds from 100kmh to 80kmh.

The last phase of the review recommends that the speed limit on roads adjoining schools in urban areas be set to 30kmh. The guidelines note that this may be achieved by way of either a permanent speed limit of 30kmh or a periodic speed limit of 30kmh. The identification of which of these options is most appropriate for each particular road adjacent to a school, will be determined by WCC on “a case-by-case basis”.

Prior to the speed limits being changed, draft by-laws will be prepared based on representations received from county councillors, An Garda Siochana, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), and members of the public. These by-laws will be adopted in October of this year with the intention to implement all changes by March 2027.

WCC’s road safety officer, David Codd, presented details of the proposed speed limit changes at district meetings across the county in December and received a mixed response from elected representatives.

In New Ross, Councillor Marty Murphy took issue with the schools being included in the last stage of the review rather than at an earlier point. He received the support of Mr Codd who said he too wanted roads adjoining schools to be reviewed earlier in the process.

“We’ve been saying this to the department from the outset, that schools should be prioritised, but it has pushed that to stage four of the process,” he said as he specified that “all schools will be reviewed regardless of whether they’re on local, regional, or national roads”.

Confirming that councillors could submit concerns about roads in their areas to WCC, Mr Codd said each would be then “assessed by the senior engineers in the local authority”.

In the Wexford Borough meeting the inclusion of the schools in the last phase of the review was raised again, this time by Cllr Robbie Staples who asked that school safety be given more precedence. Cllr Staples also asked for a list of the roads in the Borough District which are being proposed to have their speed limit reduced to 30kmh while Cllr Leonard Kelly wished to know if the review “will include every single road in Wexford town or just those that the public have raised concerns about?”

"The list of potential locations will be issued in due course,” replied Mr Codd who confirmed that the department would cover the cost of all new poles, signs, and road markings in relation to the new speed limits.

In response to a query from Cllr Biddy Walsh, he also stated that those new signs will feature the number 30 and not the infamous white background with three black lines which caused so much consternation last year.

At the Enniscorthy meeting it was revealed that Carlow County Council has already seen its section of the N80 reduced from 100kmh to 80kmh, something which Cllr Pat Kehoe was keen to see WCC emulate.

“What procedures did Carlow use to reduce the speed limit on its section of the N80 to 80kmh?” he asked. “We have been trying to get the limit from Clohaman to Ballycarney reduced for a long time, is there something we can do as a council to copy what Carlow did?”

“Any road which people have a concern about will be included in the review,” replied Mr Codd. “The DOT is issuing a directive in which all national secondary roads will be reduced to 80kmh and it will be up to the local authority whether to return it back to 100kmh.”

"The issues on that stretch of the N80 are going on forever,” continued Cllr Kehoe, “is it within our remit to work on traffic calming measures independently of TII?”

“Any works like that would require the agreement of TII,” said Mr Codd. “I’m aware of the issues between Clohaman and Ballycarney, though, and there has been video surveys done on that road.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Jackser Owens felt that, in some instances, the new speed limits weren’t going to be reduced enough.

“Could we reduce the speed limits outside the schools to 20kmh?” he asked. “We need to bring it down as low as possible in those areas.“

“The recommendation from the department is that the speed limits be reduced to 30km/h,” replied Mr Codd.

In Gorey Cllr Joe Sullivan questioned the wisdom of further widescale reductions in the wake of a year which saw 185 fatalities on Irish roads.

“I don’t know whether adjusting speed limits solves the problems, it appears there’s only one direction road deaths are going and that’s up,” he said. “Enforcement is the answer, and, along with the guards, we need to get into the schools and educate the children before they start driving. It’s disheartening when the county council is working hard every year to reduce road deaths and they still continue to increase.”

While Mr Codd pointed out that the Just One Life road safety event had been attended by two and a half thousand teenagers in Wexford last year, Cllr Sullivan said further work was required.

“The number of deaths suggests (that campaign) is not even having an impact.”

Given the number of housing developments being built in Gorey and its surrounds, Cllr Darragh McDonald was keen to ensure that any new estates were included in the changes.

“Will this change the default speed in new housing estates automatically?” he asked.

“Any existing estates will be included in the by-laws and the 30kmh will be applied,” replied Mr Codd. “New estates will be added to the by-laws as we go but they should be designed to incorporate the 30kmh limit.”

Continuing on this theme, Cllr Anthony Donohue felt that policing speed limits in estates, new or otherwise, was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Who enforces speed limits in the housing estates?” he asked. “There's no checks and balances, we should have a fixed camera installed within these estates to relay data back to the guards. That’s the only way I see limits being enforced in estates.”

Although installing cameras in estates is outside of the council’s remit, Mr Codd said he would make enquiries regarding this suggestion.

Lastly, at the Rosslare Municipal District meeting, the long-standing issue of the speed on the N25 at Drinagh and Killinick was raised by Cllr Frank Staples. However, he was informed this road was not included in the review and that a separate request to examine safety on the N25 had previously been submitted to TII.

Comments or observations on speed limits in Co Wexford can be sent to speedlimits@wexfordcoco.ie