Speed ramps a last resort in traffic control

A new traffic calming policy drawn up by Wexford Council recommends that ramps should only be used as a last resort and other methods of slowing traffic such as chicanes and road narrowing are preferable.

The policy document which came before Wexford Borough District last week is expected to come into operation in 2018.

Council Road Safety Officer David Codd said the aim is to provide consistency in traffic calming measures throughout the county and all proposals received by the local authority will be assessed, reviewed and prioritised.

Cllr. Jim Moore noted that it contains an objection to ramps on regional roads. ‘What do we do with regional roads that are going through villages. What is the alternative. We have a lot of regional roads through villages in this county. What options other than ramps can be considered,’ he said.

Mr. Codd said the Council would be looking at chicanes (artificial features creating extra turns in a road to slow traffic for safety),road narrowing and on-street car parking.

Cllr. Ger Carthy said there seemed to be a lot of hoops to jump through before getting approval for a pedestrian crossing, including traffic counting.

‘What do you do in an area like Our Lady’s Island where you have 40,000 visitors during the summer time. Is this geared towards phasing out pedestrian crossings,’ he asked.

Mr. Codd explained there would be multiple traffic counts carried out in an area and rather than phasing out pedestrian crossings, the Council is trying to prioritise where the money is spent on them.

He said there had to be a balance in an area where there was a cluster of traffic for a short time in the day and little or no traffic for the remainder of the day.

‘What the document is trying to get across is that ramps should only be used as a last resort,’ he said.

Cllr. Deirdre Wadding said she would like to see a pedestrian crossing in Kilrane, to facilitate the primary school and community centre.’ Whether it’s a chicane or a pedestrian crossing, something needs to happen there.’

The safety officer said the policy will go before the four district Councils before returning to a full Council meeting for adoption and the local authority hopes to start compiling a list of proposals in January 2018.

Director of Services Eamonn Hore said the document is an effort to bring ‘ logic’ to traffic calming measures.