The Government’s ambition of achieving Vision Zero – no road deaths or serious injuries by 2025- – was outlined to Ashbourne Municipal District councillors by a Meath County Council official at its January meeting. Stephen Short told the councillors that Phase 1 of that strategy – between 2021 and 2024 – saw the implementation of 186 actions and there was also the establishment of a working group which examined speed limits within the county.
Four key phases emerged from the working group – a reduction in the default speed limit in rural local roads from 80 to 60lm/ph and that was successfully delivered in quarter one of 2025; phase two was the introduction of a default speed limit at 30kms in all built-up and urban areas; phase three will see a reduction in the default speed limit of national secondary roads.
Mr Short said the N51 and N52 will follow on after the urban speed limit and phase four will be a reduction in speed limits on roads adjacent to schools in rural areas. The recommendation from the working group there is for a 50km limit. Last October local councils received an instruction from the Department of Transport to work on new speed limit reviews. Circulars were included giving guidance on how to set up the new limits. It will be expected that all new signs and photographs will be installed by 31 st March 2027.
Funding for this project from the department will only be available if the councils have met their deadlines, he said. The Garda Commissioner will have an opportunity to review the proposals and councillors can submit their views on the proposed limits. By September or October this year it is hoped to have new bye-laws in place. The official said that the last set of bye-laws was passed in 2018 and since then the council has received 320 submissions from councillors.
