Viewpoint: Insanity in speed limit proposals
‘Does it have to take someone to be killed for some kind of common sense to take place?’
That’s one of several comments on a similar theme among the very strong reactions to proposals that speed limits on two country roads in Kilcullen be raised, writes Brian Byrne.
The key words in that one are 'common sense'. Because for anyone who knows the Sunnyhill Road and the Dunlavin Road road stretch immediately beyond the church, it makes no sense at all that speed limits be raised there from 60km/h to 80km/h.
And here are more key words. 'Anyone who knows'. It seems very clear that the people who have made these proposals simply don't know the locations. It seems to be what's called a 'desktop' exercise, changes scoped on a map with no reference to the actual conditions on those roads.
A look at the commentary with the mapped proposals confirms this. In both cases, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer strongly opposed the suggestions to raise the limits. For Sunnyhill she notes the narrowness of the road leaving no room for driver error, and that she 'cannot stress enough' the importance of actually reducing the limit to 50km/h, as has been the local campaign for 17 years.
On the Dunlavin Road side, the councillor references the 'high impact accidents' which have taken place due to the speed and topography of this particular stretch of road, which twists and bends creating many blind spots.
But … the Council's Traffic Section has a 'rubber stamp' reason to increase the limit at both locations: 'In accordance with Section 7.2 of Speed Limit Guidelines, these sections of road should be default 80km/h as the level of development density is below the requirement for applying an urban speed limit of 60km/h'.
That is public servants doing their job according to a book and not according to reality on the ground … or, in this case, the road.
For the Sunnyhill Road, which was last modified for an expectation that the level of traffic might be 30 vehicles an hour, the reality is that the rate is now ten times that. And a large chunk of the traffic is big trucks. Walkers, cyclists, and other motorists are all at risk of injury or worse on a daily basis.
On the Dunlavin side of Kilcullen, residents are only too well aware of the speeding issues, and the actual accidents that have happened, including one fatality in recent years.
That the rubber stamp excuse of 'level of development density' is used in these cases, and presumably in other communities across the county, is unacceptable. Worse, it is 'ridiculous' and 'insane', to quote some of the reaction the Diary has had to the proposals already.
Further, if these speed limits are pushed through, even against the wishes of the members of Kildare County Council, I expect that it would leave the authority, and even the unnamed staff in the Traffic Department open to a case of corporate manslaughter should there be a subsequent traffic fatality that could be attributed to speed beyond 60km/h.
No doubt there are legal safeguards in place against such an action, but they too could be challenged and overturned by a determined court process.
But before it ever gets there, the relevant members of the Traffic Department should be required to cycle both sections of road for a couple of hours in a normal day.
I doubt any of them would be spouting 'Section 7.2' after the experience.
LISTEN: Strong reaction to speed limits proposal.
LISTEN: Speed limits proposal 'beggars belief'.
