Green light for speed limit reduction on busy West Cork road

Councillors welcome the decision by Transport Infrastructure Ireland to reduce the speed limit on the N71 national road at Ballylickey near Bantry

Councillors heard many residents in Ballylickey had difficulty exiting their properties as cars were travelling past so quickly.

A submission from two local councillors to have a speed limit reduced on a section of a major national road in West Cork has been approved by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), councillors at a recent meeting of Cork County Council’s West Cork Municipal District were told.

The appeal was made in January 2024 by Independent Ireland councillor Danny Collins and Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy regarding a section of the N71 national road at Ballylickey near Bantry.

Paul Sutton, senior executive officer at Cork County Council’s Economic Development, Enterprise and Tourism Directorate said because the road in question was a national road, the process for appealing an existing speed limit was quite lengthy.

He said in the first instance, it had to be looked at by the council’s own staff to ensure it was a feasible change. He said that because the road was a national road managed by TII, the appeal then had to go to its office in Dublin where it was assessed.

Mr Sutton said now that TII had approved the speed limit reduction, the final step in the process was for the matter to be brought before a full meeting of the council for approval, as it required a local bylaw to vary the speed limit.

Mr Collins said he “could not believe” TII had acceded to the request but it was welcome news they had done so, and “seen sense” on this occasion. He said his colleague Patrick Gerard Murphy, who had sadly died since the appeal, would also have been happy to hear the news.

Mr Collins said many residents in the area had contacted him about the stretch of road that has an 80km/h limit between two sections that have a 60km/h limit. 

Mr Collins said many residents had difficulty exiting their properties as cars were travelling past so quickly. Mr Collins proposed that the change be brought before a full meeting of the council and it was seconded by Fine Gael councillor Caroline Cronin.

Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll said a similar application was needed to reduce speed on the Schull Road leaving Skibbereen, where traffic was travelling at 100km close to pedestrians using the footpath. Independent Ireland councillor Daniel Sexton said Ballinascarthy village should also be considered for a speed limit reduction.

Fine Gael councillor Brendan McCarthy said in Leap there was a 50kmh limit, but motorists were still speeding through the village. 

He said the recent Scarecrow Festival in Leap had forced motorists to slow down and he hoped a new crossing for the village would be installed soon. Mr Carroll said a scarecrow depicting a garda with a speed gun that was put up as part of the festival should be retained because drivers were “slowing down as soon as they saw it”.

This article is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme