30 km/hr speed limit to be introduced in Cork CC, usual suspects complaining....

invinciblePRSTV

BUSINESS leaders have reacted angrily to plans by Cork City Council to reduce the speed limit in a number of the city’s central streets to 30km/h, claiming it will prove detrimental to retailers and is not needed.
Cork Business Association (CBA) — which represents nearly 200 retailers in the city — maintains the current 50km/h limit "is working fine" and "there is absolutely no need to introduce the reduced limits on a 24-hour basis".

The council intends to bring in the restrictions in most streets on the central island, which will include St Patrick’s Street, Grand Parade, Oliver Plunkett Street, North Main Street and Cornmarket Street.

However, the speed limit will remain at 50km/h on Washington Street, South Mall and on all the quays.

The local authority is also proposing to extend the 60km/h speed limit further out on the Carrigrohane Road (N22) as far as the junction with Inchigaggin Lane for safety reasons.

City Hall officials have maintained that speed reductions in other European cities have significantly cut deaths and serious injuries to pedestrians.

However, figures show that in the past 10 years, only one pedestrian has been killed on streets earmarked for speed limit reductions. That accident occurred in St Patrick’s Street, when an elderly woman was crushed by a lorry.

There was just one other serious accident recorded in St Patrick’s Street over the same time span, while there were three in Grand Parade and one in North Main Street/South Main Street.

Meanwhile, the local authority proposes to increase speed limits on other main roads leading out of the city. The 50km/h limit will be increased to 60km/h on the Lower Glanmire Road between Water Street and the Skew Bridge at Tivoli and on the N20 between the city boundary and the junction with Fitz’s Boreen on the main Mallow Road.

CBA chief executive Donal Healy said that while any fatal or serious accident was very regrettable, statistics showed Cork was generally a very safe place for pedestrians and cyclists.

"Around 99.9% of all drivers using the city centre are law-abiding citizens. Speed is not an issue in our city centre, the issue is about access for shoppers and their cars," Mr Healy said.

City councillors will debate the proposals next month when they return from their summer holidays.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/businesses-angry-over-cork-city-speed-limit-plan-164376.html#ixzz1VBxKc8FY

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/businesses-angry-over-cork-city-speed-limit-plan-164376.html

Now if anyone knows the streets proposed to fall under the new limit, the vast majority of them are small and narrow and often have either a significant pedestrian presence, or also in the case of Patrick Street & Grand Parade, significant congestion throughout the day and evening. So the changing of the speed limits isn't that big a deal unless you're someone who enjoys speeding around the city centre at night time.

One wonders why the cabbies are complaining, it's not as Cork city centre cabbies slavishly obeyed the old speed limits of 50 km/hr (or traffic lights, or the ROTR in general), so we know full well they'll just ignore the new speed limit as well.

-Chris-

It won't make a bit of difference unless it's enforced...

KTRIC

-Chris- wrote: »

It won't make a bit of difference unless it's enforced...

Much like the one in Dublin

L1011

-Chris- wrote: »

It won't make a bit of difference unless it's enforced...

Can't see it needing much enforcement. Not sure of the last time I got above about 15km/h on Patrick Street - even at night!

This is window dressing and nothing more. ". Speed is not an issue in our city centre" is correct, primarily because people can't get anywhere close to the current or the new limit!

corktina

you'd rarely do over 30k on those streets anyway, so Id say its a waste of tiem. I welcome the raise in certain limits, especially the mallow rd where the limit is widely ignored anyway

Victor

Oddly, the only meaningful information on the internet is on the Chamber of Commerce site

http://www.corkchamber.ie/yourviews.cfm

Cork City Council Speed Limit Consultation

Cork City Council is undertaking a process of making bye-laws to change and to rationalise speed limits in various locations in the City. As part of the public consultation process we would like to hear our members’ views on the proposals. These views will be communicated to the City Council and Cork City Councillors when they meet to decide on the implementation of the new speed bye-laws. Please contact alma@corkchamber.ie with your views before 19th August.

The locations are:

South Ring Road (N25).
The bye-laws are necessary here to rationalise the speed limits on the South Ring Road which intersects the boundary between the City and County areas at various locations and the ‘rationalisation is to ensure that the bye-laws properly reflect the current positions of the speed signage (this is necessary in case there is a challenge in the courts)

South City Link (N27)
Some small changes to the speed limits on the South City Link near the junction with Boreenmanna Road to allow us to put more visible signage on the bridges. Motorists who are prosecuted by the Gardaí for speeding offences are complaining that they cannot see the current speed signs.

Lower Glanmire Road. (N8)
We are proposing to increase the speed limit to 60 kph from 50 kph between on the Lower Glanmire Road between Water Street and the Skew Bridge at Tivoli to reflect the fact the large majority motorists travel at speeds between 50 and 60 kph in the area. There is no frontage development there so 60 kph is a safe speed here.

Mallow Road. (N20)
Again we are proposing to increase the speed limit to 60 kph from 50 kph from the City Boundary to the junction with Fitz’s Boreen to reflect the fact the large majority motorists travel at speeds between 50 and 60 kph in the area.

Carrigrohane Road (N22).
It is proposed to extend the 60kph speed zone out as far as the junction with Inchigaggin Lane for road safety reasons because of the presence of the bus lane and more particularly because of the on-street cycle lane on the roadway.

City Centre
1. In the City Centre, several million euro has been spent on the upgrading and refurbishment of the main street network. In order to derive the maximum benefit from the huge investment, in terms of the improvement of the overall environment and comfort/safety for pedestrians, it is proposed to introduce a 30 kph zone. Experience in the UK and mainland Europe has shown that this measure will add to the attractiveness of the City Centre for visitors, shoppers, etc.

2. The zone will be signposted and combined with the newly improved public realm, the new speed limit should be mainly self enforcing particularly at busy shopping periods. The special speed limit will ensure that traffic speeds will be kept low even during off-peak periods so that high levels of pedestrian safety and comfort are maintained throughout the City Centre streets at all times.

3. Accessibility to the City Centre by cars will not be affected by the new speed limits; however the environment for cyclists and particularly pedestrians will be vastly improved, thus making the area safer more attractive.

Click here to download a drawing showing the extent of the new 30 kph zone. The main streets involved are St. Patrick’s Street (N22), Grand Parade, Oliver Plunkett Street, North Main Street, Cornmarket Street and adjacent and adjoining streets.

L1011

Seems sensible enough. Just don't want to see it being used to justify 30's elsewhere when the 30 element of it isn't going to have any real impact.

Padraig Mor

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/businesses-angry-over-cork-city-speed-limit-plan-164376.html

Now if anyone knows the streets proposed to fall under the new limit, the vast majority of them are small and narrow and often have either a significant pedestrian presence, or also in the case of Patrick Street & Grand Parade, significant congestion throughout the day and evening. So the changing of the speed limits isn't that big a deal unless you're someone who enjoys speeding around the city centre at night time.
l.

Patrick St, Grand Parade and Cornmarket St are from from 'small and narrow'. TBH I doubt most traffic in these areas reaches 30 km/h anyway. Extending the 60km limit on the Carrigrohane Road ("de straightest road in Ireland, boy") is ridiculous though.

HivemindXX

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

"Around 99.9% of all drivers using the city centre are law-abiding citizens. Speed is not an issue in our city centre, the issue is about access for shoppers and their cars," Mr Healy said.

This quote exemplifies why the various shopkeeper lobby groups should be kept as far away from city planning as possible.

Every single one of them wants a punter to be able to drive right up to the door of their shop and park, 24 hours a day every day. They don't care that this model can't possibly work in a city centre and they'll lobby hard to get rid of any restrictions and then turn around and whine that government needs to do something about the traffic that is choking the city.

Thinkingaboutit

KTRIC wrote: »

Much like the one in Dublin

Thanks for the laugh. I've never seen any evidence that anyone complies, nor of enforcement. It would be nice if people did, when a person is on a bicycle, at certain iffy junctions. Oh well.

monument

There's not much enforcment but I know indirectly of somebody who lost their licence after passing a speed detection van a few times in the one day in Dublin's central 30km zone. He apparently started with some points, but being clocked a few times pushed him over it.

Carawaystick

I think the Cork Council should expand the 30 zone to all narrow streets in the city centre, definitely south of the South Mall to the south channel and probably include the narrow streets south to Evergreen st

I'd exclude south terrace, georges quay and the mall though