Motorists ignoring 30km city centre speed limit, council finds

THE 30KM/H speed limit introduced in Dublin city centre last January has brought motorists’ speeds down by just over 1km/h during the morning peak, a report by Dublin City Council has found.

Motorists are not obeying the new limits and are continuing to drive at speeds of around 40km/h in the restricted zones, the report from the council’s traffic department found. However, the council management remains in support of the measure.

The introduction of the new limits reducing maximum speeds from 50km/h to 30km/h on the city centre quays as well as on O’Connell Street and other primary roads in the centre, resulted in a storm of criticism from motoring lobby group the AA, several city councillors and national politicians, and some radio broadcasters.

Opponents of the measure said it was difficult to maintain a speed under 30km/h; that it was potentially more dangerous as drivers would be paying greater attention to the speedometer than the road; that it was ideologically driven by the cyclists’ lobby; and that it was unnecessary because motorists couldn’t exceed 30km/h anyway because of congestion.

However, the report, which will be presented to city councillors later this week, found drivers were exceeding the limit at both peak and off-peak times.

In February 2009, the average speed on the roads now governed by the new limit was 40.9km/h during the morning peak from 7am to 10am.

Last month, the average speed had dropped to 39.3km/h, according to the traffic department.

Readings were also taken during off-peak hours of 11am to 3pm.

These showed an average speed in February 2009 of 38.9km/h, reduced to 34km/h in August 2010, both lower than the rush hour levels.

The report concedes the reductions appear small but said research had shown that a 1.6km/h reduction in speed could reduce accidents by 3-6 per cent.

The traffic department also analysed the number of cars on the restricted streets and on roads just outside the perimeter and found there was no displacement of traffic because of the lowered limits.

“Dublin City Council management are of the view that the measure is an important step in helping to reduce road accidents and in improving the city environment for all road users,” it said.

Although the introduction of new limits caused consternation, the 30km/h zone was already operational in most of the shopping and central business areas of the city since 2006.

At that time, the council had been unable to reduce the speed on O’Connell Street, the quays, and from D’Olier Street to Christ Church because they were national primary roads governed by the National Roads Authority.

The council subsequently obtained sanction from the authority to change the status of these routes, and introduced the new bylaws.