Role of local Authority in traffic management

pclive

I'm doing a project on the Role of local Authority in traffic management.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of where to find a comprehensive list of items that a local authority is responsible for with regard to traffic mgt?

I have looked up the Road traffic act 1994 section 35-38 but it only lists parking, road signage and traffic calming.

Victor

Unfortunately, the strategy used by most councils is to build more roads, not manage traffic. In general, there has been a preference to passive management (roundabout) to active management (traffic lights, traffic management software, variable speed limits, etc.).

Invariably, this seems to be because building roads or roundabouts is seen as simple, easy too do, keeps project spend local and because motorists favour them.

Fundamentally, many councils fail to manage traffic demand, as motor tax is a major income source for them. Indeed, many councils go a long way in encouraging people to spend money on cars and houses, to the detriment of other parts of peoples' needs.

Note that there are many Road Traffic Acts and there is also the Roads Act. You may have to look a the many Local Government Acts to see what the LA's responsibilities are. There will be a big difference between what they can do and what they must do.

It might be useful for you to sit down with a mid-ranking LA road engineer or two to see what they and their council see as their obligations.

galwaycyclist

You should also bear in mind that at the moment they are permitted to earn income from car parking charges. This gives Irish Local Authorities a direct financial incentive to promote car travel over other forms of transport.