Residents urge council to finally resolve 20-year campaign to have speeds reduced on Wexford road
Wexford PeopleA 20-year campaign to reduce the speed limit on a road on the outskirts of Wexford town may be about to reach a positive conclusion after the local council confirmed it would conduct a review.
Raising the issue at the September meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), Councillor Ray Shannon said residents on the old Ferrycarrig Road (R730) had been trying to get the speed limit reduced there for over two decades.
“They have been campaigning for the last 20 years to have the speed limit reduced from 80 to 60km/h,” he said. “Is there any advice we can give them to go about this because it’s a very dangerous road which is experiencing excessive speeds?”
Given the duration of their campaign, those residents, two of whom were in the gallery, could have been forgiven for expecting a long-winded reply full of empty promises. However, chief executive Eddie Taaffe said that section of the R730 could be reviewed as soon as November of this year.
“We review the speed limits periodically, we generally advertise and look for submissions from the public and bring those to the chamber for review,” he said. “That’s a regional road so reducing the speed would be in the councillors’ remit.
While this appeared to be positive news, one resident of the area, Ms Anne Troy, said she had received a similar response from WCC in 2006.
In correspondence dated July 27, 2006 - which was shared with the Irish Independent by Ms Troy - former Deputy Brendan Howlin received a response from WCC regarding the speeds on this road.
“The next general review of speed limits in Co Wexford is due to begin in October (2006) and the matter of applying a special speed limit at this location will then be examined,” the letter reads. “In the meantime your request is being added to the list of speed limit matters to be examined at review time.”
Noting that a new housing estate has recently opened on the road with no additional safety measures to accompany it, Ms Troy said motorists accessing Wexford town were increasingly using the old Ferrycarrig Road as an entry point.
“When they see the 80kmh road sign it is treated like a starting flag for a race,” she said. “And if they’re overtaking other vehicles it’s almost impossible for residents and businesses users to exit safely onto the road.
“Similarly, coming from Ferrycarrig Bridge towards Wexford, when vehicles come round the bend at the railway bridge, they again overtake and residents are left in a very vulnerable situation.
“The noise levels, and acceleration of traffic once they leave the Seamus Kelly roundabout, along with the level of overtaking, has made this road extremely dangerous.”
Requesting that an urgent review of the speed limit on the road be carried out, Ms Troy said, “Our safety and the safety of the local business users is being compromised on a daily basis.”