'Frightening' speeding in Nenagh

Drivers disobeying the speed limit in Nenagh and Cloughjordan have prompted concern from local councillors.

At the July meeting of Nenagh Municipal District, Cllr Michael O'Meara spoke of a particular probelm in the town at Ballygraigue, which he said has been “turned into a speedway”.

“It's absolutely frightening,” Cllr O'Meara said, adding that there was a serious accident in Ballygraigue recently. People are looking for a traffic-calming scheme, and he believed “at least four raised platforms” are required.

He mentioned Tipperary Co Council's new policy on combating speeding, which favours the use of raised platforms over speed ramps. But in the meantime, Cllr O'Meara called on the gardaí to patrol Ballygraigue as a deterrent to motorists driving at speed.

Cllr Ryan O'Meara agreed that there is a problem with speeding in Ballygraigue and he also mentioned the parking issues that have arisen in the past when events are taking place at the athletics complex. He spoke of a similar problem with speeding in the village of Cloughjordan, with its long, wide main street and schools at either end. Raised platforms would help to slow traffic down here also, Cllr O'Meara said.

Returning to Nenagh, Cllr Louise Morgan Walsh raised a problem with speeding on St Conlon's Road. A significant number of motorists drive at “phenomenal” speed on this road, which is used by many pedestrians and cyclists, including children using the cycle lanes. Local residents are “extremely worried” about the situation, Cllr Morgan Walsh told the meeting.

SPEED LIMIT REVIEW

District Engineer Barry Murphy pointed out that nearly every local road in the district would see a speed limit reduction following the national review of speed limits.

The reductions will be introduced in phases. Many roads with an 80kmph limit would will see a reduction to 60kmph this autumn. Urban areas will have a 30kmph speed limit early next year.

Mr Murphy suggested that it would be premature to install raised tables anywhere ahead of implementation of the recommendations of the national review. He said education is a key feature of the three-way process for dealing with speeding. The first phase involves enforcement and the last involves engineering solutions. Mr Murphy regretted that most motorists still think it is acceptable to dive in excess of the speed limit.

Cllr Fiona Bonfield said gardaí do not have the resources to combat speeding in urban areas. She did not think that reducing the speed limit to 30kmph would stop the problem.

Cllr Michael O'Meara agreed that gardaí "have enough to be doing" without having to monitor driver behaviour. Raised platforms are the most effective means of dealing with speeding and he encouraged the council executive to use them as a solution in Ballygraigue. Cllr O'Meara mentioned that other local authorities seem to have a more widespread use of ramps.

'A SAD DAY'

Mr Murphy again made the point about education and said drivers should heed the many messages about slowing down, rather than local authorities having to carry out traffic-calming works.

"It's a sad day when we have to take on these measures to force people to obey the speed law," he commented.

Ramps might be widely used in other local authority areas, but they are costly both to install and maintain. Mr Murphy mentioned areas where they have broken up due to overuse and lack of budgets to repair them.

He said Tipperary Co Council's traffic-calming policy is not presently geared in favour of raised platforms on regional roads. He believed a full integrated design should be considered for Ballygraigue. Platforms on their own could be "dangerous" if not used in tandem with other traffic-calming measures, he said.