Laois County Councillors have called for updates and clarification from the Department of Transport regarding their planned speed review process.
Fine Gael Cllr Barry Walsh raised the issue this week at the County Council’s April meeting, gaining cross-party support for the motion.
Cllr Walsh called on Laois County Council to write to the Department “requesting an update and timeline outlining what stage the speed review process is at and when guidelines will be issued.”
“Speed is a huge issue, and people are afraid out there,” he said.
“Families with young kids are afraid to let their kids out cycling, which should not be the case.
“We need to get on top of this.”
There was support for the motion from Independent Cllr James Kelly and Fianna Fáil Cllr Padraig Fleming.
Cllr Kelly sought clarification on the timeline of the Government’s speed review, questioning how all the various Councils across Ireland would be coordinating their speed limits.
“The Minister is going to be sending back the details to each Local Authority, so it will be up to each Local Authority then to put in the speed reviews.
“Are all Local Authorities going to start at the same time, or are some going to start before other Local Authorities?
“And then is there going to be a mish-mash of different speed limits in different Counties and different areas?”
Cllr Fleming also questioned how much freedom each Local Authority would have to set their own speed limits, especially on hyper-local roads which may require a more nuanced approach.
The Department of Transport are yet to issue the statutory guidelines outlining how the review is to be undertaken.
However, they have instructed Laois County Council to commence their engagement with public representatives with consultations due to take place over the summer.
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