“Members of the public are entitled to have their say on speed limits on the roads they use and live beside. I believe there should be a process always open for the public to have its say and query speed limits on roads used on a daily basis,” so said Cllr. Fionnán Fitzgerald, Fianna Fáil, commenting on concerns over the increasing levels of speed on all roads recently.
Policy at National Level
“Speed limits are set using a policy at national level. While this seems okay at first glance it can lead to dangerously high limits on our roads and unusual situations – to say the least.
“An example of this is the speed limit increases as one goes away from a school. This is something readers will see as they travel around our roads,” said Cllr. Fitzgerald
Concerns on Road Safety
“But in some cases as one travels away from a primary school one can come to a sharp bend in the road or a steep incline or to a cluster of houses etc. An increase in speed in such a case as this is a clear danger to all road users.
“I believe that there should always be a system by which members of the public can give their concerns on road safety. It should be no other way as at the root of it all is safety and the prevention of an accident or the tragic loss of human life.
Query Speed Limits
“The process by which a person can query the speed limit on a road is now open and the details are attached below.
“Details such as the road number, reason for appealing the speed limit, a description of the area of road in question etc are required.
“I am more than willing to help locals in getting them details such as these. There is no closing date as of yet given and I enquired on this.
About Local Roads
“I really encourage people to think about the roads in their areas and those they use and ask could the speed be changed on parts of them and why,” said Cllr. Fitzgerald.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on…Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
