Vol. 519 No. 5
234 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will reconsider his decision to introduce a new residential maximum speed limit of 20 kilometres per hour applicable in residential urban areas in view of the reduced funding by the Dublin Transportation Office for traffic calming measures in urban areas and in view of the increased number and speed of cars. [14177/00]
The standard speed limit for built-up urban areas is currently 30 miles per hour. The Government Strategy for Road Safety 1998-2002 indicated that changes to speed limit regimes, which were comprehensively reviewed some years ago, were not proposed in the immediate term. The priority must instead be to secure a much higher level of compliance with existing speed limits.
The option of revising speed limits downwards is not ruled out if enforcement of existing limits does not show good progress towards the strategy goal of reducing excessive levels of speeding by 50%. Such downward revisions could address lower speed limits, such as 20 miles per hour, in built-up areas. I intend that the situation will continue to be monitored in line with this approach.
My Department is providing a record £23.5 million to the Dublin Transportation Office this year for the provision of grants for traffic management measures, including traffic calming. Increased non-national road grant allocations to urban road authorities in 2000, including special new grants for traffic management in certain larger urban areas, also provide the means for local authorities, at their discretion, to undertake these measures.
