At this month’s meeting of Tipperary County Council Declan Burgess made the case that the speed limits should be reviewed every five years.
Director of Services, Marcus O’Connor said that they were following national guidelines on default speed limits on roads and the provision of slow zones.
Councillor Burgess says a speed limit review should’ve taken place in Tipperary last year.
“Per the national guidance coming from the department itself, there’s supposed to be a review every five years, so that should’ve been done in 2022. So we are late in terms of reviewing our speed limits across the county. I asked Tipperary County Council to highlight their plans and urged that it start this extensive process as soon as possible. The response from the director was in relation to the department coming up with new national guidelines and that they’re going to introduce slow zones and default speed limits in certain areas across the country in suggestion to local authorities.”
Cllr. Burgess says the public should be involved in the review and is calling for urgency on the matter.
“I really am calling for urgency. I’m going to highlight again with management at council level that they keep contacting the department to ensure that these guidelines come. As I said, this review was supposed to happen in 2022. I, and many councillors across this county, have roads in rural areas, in towns and villages, that should be reviewed and that should go down to public consultation to get the views of residents, of community groups, of drivers in those areas, and of different types of businesses. It’s very important that the consultation be done in relation to speed limits.”
