“EVERYONE is breaking the speed limit — everyone!”
And even Mass-goers are no angels, it was revealed during this month’s meeting of the Adare-Rathkeale Municipal District.
Former Mayor Kevin Sheahan, believes we are now relying on drivers to adhere to the speed limits on Limerick roads. However, the outspoken Fianna Fáil man claimed 85 per cent of people are not doing this.
“The speed limit has to be enforced,” Cllr Sheahan told council members after a presentation from the Loughill N69 Health and Safety Committee.
Members of the committee told councillors that the current speed limit of 50km/h in Loughill is not being adhered to. They asked that the current speed limit be left in place until a review is carried out with local community consultation. More than 1,300 people signed a petition in the area calling for this action to be carried out.
Committee member Michael Hunt described scenes in the village on a Sunday morning at Mass time to those at “the starting line of a Le Mans race”.
“It’s not just drivers, it’s church-goers as well,” he added.
Cllr Sheahan recalled attending a funeral in Loughill and witnessing a “horror scene waiting to happen”. He also took the view that traffic calming was the way to go rather than increasing speed in the village from 50km/h to 60km/h.
“We had unanimous agreement here last month that traffic calming is the way to go and we have asked our engineers to go and carry out a survey. We are waiting for them to come back to us and we will be able to tell you then what they recommend.
“I always had a soft spot for Loughill. The last time we were out there for a meeting they had tea and breakfast rolls ready for us. We will look at what changes can be made within the demands of the law,” Cllr Sheahan added.
Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey promised Loughill residents that they would lobby for traffic calming measures on their behalf.
Independent councillor Richard O’Donoghue suggested that the roads in the village need to be narrowed at the junctions to reduce speed. He also referred to a video shown to councillors by the Loughill N69 Health and Safety Committee during their presentation.
“The scariest part was the behaviour of traffic after Mass time. There is wrongdoing on all sides. The worst image was that of a woman who walked out onto the road with a child while her back was to the traffic,” Cllr O’Donoghue recalled.
