The Green Party has welcomed Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s decision to lower certain speed limits in the County from 11 January 2010.

Green Party TD for Dún Laoghaire Ciarán Cuffe stated:
“The Green Party has previously sought the introduction of 30km per hour speed limits in built-up areas and I’m delighted to see the Council introduce them in Dún Laoghaire.

“I believe that this is an appropriate speed in urban areas and will lead to a safer environment for all road users, particularly the most vulnerable such as pedestrians and cyclists.

“Driving at lower speeds can also improve fuel consumption for motorists, thereby lowering our carbon emissions.

“A new speed limit of 30km per hour on Lower George’s Street will improve pedestrian access to Dún Laoghaire town centre and a 30km per hour speed limit on Stonebridge Road in Shankill will improve safety for the students and parents travelling to and from the two schools located there.

“There are also changes to the roads in the Ballybrack area as the limit is reduced from 80 to 50km per hour. We know that lowering the speed limits on roads like these can reduce accident rates.

“It’s encouraging that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown already has some of the safest roads in the country and I hope that we can improve on these statistics even further in 2010.”

Further information is available on the Council's website.