Speed limit changes in six places in district

FOLLOWING A review of speed limits around the county, six locations were brought to the attention of councillors at the recent Wexford Borough District Council meeting.

Road Safety Officer David Codd explained that, in the course of their review, they had received 136 submissions, the majority of which came through email with just three coming through the council website. Of those, 119 were submissions from members fo the public, two came from d Dáil members, 14 were from councillors and one was from one of the council’s own engineers.

Of the locations reviewed, six were flagged for changes: Barntown village, Murrintown village, Kilmore Quay, Tagoat village, Tomhaggard village and Wexord town. He said they still had to agree an exact implementation date with Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

New poles for signage would be erected in June, he said, with signs going up in July.

Cllr Ger Carthy drew attention to Tagoat village and the idea of moving the speed limit out past the turn-off to Our Lady’s Island, pointing out that they had a duty of care to citizens.

Cllr George Lawlor said he welcomed the introduction of 30kph slow zones in estates, saying he would support it being rolled out in all estates. He also welcomed the periodic speed limit being introduced in Camolin at the national school, believing that it was a great idea.

‘I think we should take the

bull by the horns on this one and roll it out to all schools. Reducing speed at certain, busy times around schools is, to me, a no brainer. When we have the technology to do it, I think it would be most welcome.’

He also voiced his concern in relation to the placement and building of estates, pointing out that on Whiterock Hill, in particular, there were sightline issues at the exits of estates, one of which had a bad bend just 30 yards away and which traffic travelled fast on.

‘There has been a number of near misses and I think we need to look seriously at this issue. There is also a school on that road, and there will be more houses built up there.’

Cllr Frank Staples agreed in relation to the periodic speed limits, saying it was a fantastic tool. He also wondered if it was something that could be used on a rolling basis in different areas where there were issues with speeding.

The plan was adopted by the council.