Legal issue involved in reducing Sallins and Naas speed limits

The main streets of Naas and Sallins must have a minimum speed limit of 50km/hr under current rules, councillors in Naas have been told.

At the Naas Municipal District meeting on October 20, members were told by Cllr Carmel Kelly that “boy racers” are back in Sallins again.

 Cllr Bill Clear had proposed that  the council start the legal process to have the speed limit on main streets in  Naas and Sallins reduced to 30km/h. 

He was told that the Council is carrying out a County Speed Limit  Review which is the legal process for adopting speed limits. The review, which includes Naas and Sallins,  will be carried out in accordance  with Road Traffic Act 2004 and Guidelines for  Setting and Managing Speed Limits in Ireland.

 In a report to members,  council officials said that as part of this process it is reviewing all the speed limits which includes the main streets in Sallins and  Naas. “In accordance with the Road Traffic Act 2004 and Guidelines for Setting Speed  Limits in Ireland, the main street Sallins (R407-22/24) and main street Naas (R407) is  required to remain a 50km/h speed limit zone.

It said this was because in Guidelines for Setting and Managing  Speed Limits in Ireland section “7.3.2 Special Speed Limit of 30km/h” references for  a road to be considered a 30km/h zone, the road should be considered an urban  road/street where the needs of the vulnerable road user (i.e. pedestrians) takes  precedence over the motorist.

But in the case of the main streets in Naas and Sallins the motorist takes precedence on the public road area and footpaths are provided for  pedestrians, the report said.

Secondly, the guidelines say that for a road to be deemed  30km/h, the road shall not have a strategic or distribution function.

But as both the Sallins and Naas  roads are classified as regional routes, they have a strategic and distribution function. 

Cllr Clear said they could seek to have the roads changed from regional to local.

Cllr Seamie Moore said that some towns have a “shared space” in which all traffic slows down.

Cllr Moore said he thought that Dungarvan in county Waterford had such a scheme. “It seems to be working well,” he said.

Cllr Moore said that in Naas we will have to share space and speed limits lower than 30km/hr will be needed.

Cllr Carmel Kelly said that in Sallins there are wide roads  and the “boy racers are back out again.”