Four Mayo roads survive speed limit review

Councillors in the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District have criticized the upcoming lowering of speed limits on Mayo’s local and rural roads from 80km/hr to 60km/hr which will see just four roads in the MD retaining the limit of 80km/hr.

The four roads, Pullathomas to Bellanaboy, Glenamoy to Carrowteige, Bangor to Bellanaboy and Bangor to Glencastle, will be given a Special Speed Limit of 80km/hr as assessments carried out by Mayo County Council showed they met certain safety standards. This will come into effect at an as-of-yet unannounced date in November.

Councillors considered this matter at last week’s MD meeting, however, Cllr Gerry Coyle said that the decision had already been made without councillors having a say.

“Our hands are tied, take it or leave it, we’re doing it anyways. That’s the attitude,” he said.

“It impacts our roads and these decisions are being taken by someone who never even stepped foot in Doohoma.” Cllr Paul McNamara said that there was no common sense being applied to the Speed Limit Review and that the fact only four roads could maintain the current limit was telling.

“We have only four local roads that can go back to 80km/hr. That shows how bad local roads are in this District,” he said.

“I have been shouting about how little funding we get for these roads for years and that is now coming home to roost. The local roads in Achill are in a terrible state.” “There is neither head nor tail to this today. On the N59 from Newport to Mulranny, funding was pulled and it was gone back to tender yet a decision can be made overnight to reduce the speed limit.” “Every single department is using this to cover themselves if there is a fatality. Common sense is not prevailing in any of this,” he said.

Cllr Peter Flynn said no roads in the Westport part of the MD were included to be kept at 80km/hr and this proved that west Mayo was the ‘poor relation’ in the county. Cllr Chris Maxwell said rural Ireland is being left to suffer with the current state of its roads and it would take ‘tanker-loads’ of money to bring them up to an acceptable standard.

Senior engineer Heather Gibbons said they assessed the roads in accordance with criteria set by Government and there will be a chance for a review in late 2025.

The move from 80km/hr to 60km/hr on the majority of local roads is in line with new national policy on speed limits being rolled out in three phases. Phase 2 will see national secondary roads being reduced to 80km/hr from 100km/hr and the third phase will see urban speed limits reduced from 50km/hr to 30km/hr.