SPEED limits across Clare will be subject to change in 2027, in accordance with the implementation of new bye-laws nationally next year.
Senior Engineer for Transportation, Mobility and Health and Safety with Clare County Council, Cyril Feeney, delivered a presentation on the planned changes at a recent sitting of the county Physical Development SPC in Ennis.
In accordance with government plans, built up areas in Clare that have an ‘urban-core’ will have their current 50km/h speed limits lowered to 30km/h.
Feeney gave the example of Kilrush as a town in Clare where this programme would be implemented. The N68 on the approach to the West Clare town is proposed to transition from 80 km/h to 60 km/h and then to 50 km/h.
The engineer also acknowledged the need for different approaches to various locations in Clare and made reference to Cratloe during the presentation.
The East Clare village was used to highlight the new map-based bye-law system which provides planners with a more user-friendly and up to date model for the implementation of speed limits.
Mr Feeney outlined that under new plans, the village speed limit will remain at 50km/h with periodic speed limits of 30km/h applying to school zones during school hours.
Other major routes in Clare will also be subject to speed limit reductions, including the Tulla Road with a proposed reduction from 100km/h down to 80km/h. The old N8 in Crusheen heading north towards Galway would also be subject to the same reduction.
Attending the meeting via MS Teams, cllr Rita McInerney (FF) voiced concern over some aspects of the proposed changes, saying “People become cynical about when the speed limit is reduced because that’s the limit the road can take, people see it as a way for the standard of the road to be let go. You’re reducing the speed limit of the road because the quality of the road isn’t good enough to take the speed. That might seem like a cynical comment but it’s certainly something that definitely can be felt”.
Cyril Feeney acknowledged these concerns and reiterated the importance of proper road maintenance, adding that the current plans will mean “A lot of poles to be put up and additional road markings because we don’t want a clutter of signposts at junctions either”.
Green Party representative and SPC committee member Bridget Ginnity stated that she welcomed the proposed reductions and hoped for a reduction in fatalities as a result.
She questioned the Senior Engineer over a purported lack of awareness of the 30km/h speed limit on O’Connell street in Ennis, adding that there was a lack of awareness of driving in a shared environment.
Responding to these claims, Cyril Feeney acknowledged the main thoroughfare’s entrance is “A more constrained access than previously there. There is no distinction between footpath and the road to alert motorists that they are in a shared space. Pedestrians have a duty of care as well. I take your point regarding education and we need to communicate that better”, he added.
