Many roads in West Cork will fail to retain 80km/h speed limit
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The dire state of rural roads in West Cork means all will fail to retain 80km/h speed limits when planned speed reductions come into force on February 7.
Local authorities are allowed to retain the upper speed limit if the road meets strict criteria, which include an adequate road width and a lack of potentially dangerous junctions.
The speed limits on the vast majority of rural roads in the country are set to be reduced from 80km/h to 60km/h.
However, under legislation councils can maintain 80km/h limits if their engineers feel it is safe to do so and gardaí agree with them.
Cork County Council has announced that, after receiving garda approval, it's going to maintain the upper speed limits on just over 30 rural roads in the region, none of which are in West Cork.
Independent councillor Finbarr Harrington, who lives in Allihies, 160km from County Hall, said the reduced limits could impact on the West Cork economy as it will take longer to bring goods in and out of the region.
“The roads in West Cork are in a dreadful state and it's been due to continued underinvestment by governments over the years,” Mr Harrington said.
Cork County Council gets the second lowest allocation per kilometre of road funding from central government to local authorities.
“West Cork has suffered even more as a result of this,” Mr Harrington added.
Mayor of County Cork Joe Carroll said it has been estimated by council engineers that up to €40m is needed just to bring roads in West Cork up to an acceptable standard.
He pointed out that the region is also at a disadvantage as it is served by just one national secondary road, the N71, which runs from Cork city into Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen, and Bantry.
“A lot of it is totally substandard, especially the section from Bandon to Skibbereen,” Mr Carroll said.
Senior council official Niall Healy, who is in charge of the speed reduction project, said it will cost more than €1.8m to put up the new lower limit signs in the county.
The money will be provided by the government.
He said the poles to hold the new signs have already been erected.
The signs will be put up in January but will remain covered until February 7.
The work is mainly being carried out by council staff but some contractors are also employed on the project.
Fianna Fáil councillor Sheila O’Callaghan asked if the council was being "busy fools erecting new signage when there is no enforcement".
Social Democrats councillor Ann Bambury was told by Mr Healy that the old signs will be kept in storage and reused where possible if required.