CALL TO HALT DRIVERS SPEEDING IN ESTATES
A SMALL number of motorists are causing havoc in housing estates by driving recklessly at speed, councillors heard at the most recent meeting of Wicklow Municipal District.
Cathaoirleach Shay Cullen raised the issue and said that he had received complaints over speeding by residents of estates in Newtownmountkennedy, Laragh and Roundwood.
He suggested the local authority provide small ‘rubber’ ramps to try and slow speeding motorists down.
However, Cllr Irene Winters felt ‘taxpayers’ money shouldn’t always be the answer to such problems.
‘It doesn’t always have to be about ramps. I would like to see residents associations do a leaflet drop to all houses about speeding. It shouldn’t always be about the taxpayer taking the burden. I know where I live there was one car that was travelling too fast. He was approached and asked “could you please slow down. Do you not know you are upsetting a lot of people?” They slowed down after that.’
Cllr Cullen said: ‘Generally, it is only a small amount of people who do it. They could be any age but more and more often it is young lads with souped up cars.’
Cllr Daire Nolan said that ‘education is the key’. ‘It is amazing how a little bit of neighbourly pressure can have an affect,’ hesaid.
Cllr Mary Kavanagh said: ‘Somebody has to spearhead that education project – something that puts the message out there. Not every estate has a residents association.’
At the next district meeting, the elected members will be furnished with a cost for erecting ‘Children at Play’ signs in local housing estates. Some of the signs will be placed on existing speed limit poles, while others may require new poles altogether.