On 3 February, I announced the 2015 regional and local road allocations and my Department issued Circular (RW 2/2015) notifying all local authorities of their allocations. I have set aside funding of €2m this year to support a signage programme/engineering measures in line with the actions proposed in Circular RSD 01/2014 of 15 October 2014. The intention is to allocate this funding as local authorities come forward with their proposals in respect of implementing 30km/h speed limits in housing areas. Since then the new Speed Limit Guidelines have been issued which provide further guidance for road authorities in respect of 30 km/h speed limit zones and the provision of speed limit signs or new warning signs for such areas as appropriate.
Local authorities have been requested to reply to my Department by this Friday (15 May) with an estimate (as accurately as possible) of their signage requirements to the end of November 2015. The Department has advised that account needs to be taken of the timescale required for Councils to apply bye-laws and to individually procure signs and posts. It is intended that these figures (to end November 2015) will be used as a basis for calculating additional grant allocations for local authorities in the current year. There will be an opportunity to modify the "post-November 2015" requirements later in the year as this initiative will continue into next year. Part of the overall process is an assessment by local authorities of compliance levels in terms of the new speed limits and whether further engineering measures will be required to assist in slowing traffic.
