New council policy effectively bans memorials along many Tipperary roadsides
Tipperary County Council's revised Roadside Memorial Policy states that roadside memorials should not be erected on roads with a 60kph speed limit or over
Tipperary County Council has adopted a policy effectively prohibiting the erection of new roadside memorials along roads in the county with a speed limit of 60km per hour and over.
The Council's revised Roadside Memorial Policy containing this new restriction was unanimously approved by the local authority’s elected members at their monthly meeting in Nenagh on Monday.
The document, hammered out by the Council's Infrastructure Strategic Policy Committee, replaces the 2017 Roadside Memorial Policy, which only prohibited roadside memorials on motorways in the county.
The revised policy extends this outright prohibition to also cover dual carriageways, and it states that installation of roadside memorials in “high speed single carriageway roads” with a speed limit of 60kph and over “should not be permitted”.
When asked by The Nationalistto clarify whether this was an outright ban, Director of Roads Liam Brett confirmed that “in general” the memorials are now prohibited on such roads.
“We will accept applications and consider them but in general we won't allow them,” he said.
Councillors were told the changes bring the Council's policy into line with the Government's Road Safety Strategy, along with Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure Ireland guidelines.
Senior executive engineer Thomas Duffy explained to councillors that the presence of roadside memorials on roads with a speed limit of 60km per hour and over posed a safety risk.
The policy’s aim was to ensure roads remain clear of roadside obstructions to reduce pedestrian activity in hazardous areas, reduce vehicle stopping and parking manoeuvres at roadsides and maintenance activities such as grass cutting. It also aims to reduce distraction to other road users.
He said the revised policy will not affect existing roadside memorials. However, should a memorial be damaged due to its unsafe location on a public road, and require replacement, then the replacement would be erected in accordance with the Council's new policy.
The revised policy was adopted after very long and detailed discussions by Infrastructure SPC members, as a very sensitive issue.
Committee Chairman Cllr Jim Ryan said a lot of queries and concerns were raised by SPC members that resulted in amendments being made, and he was happy to propose the policy’s approval. Cllr Fiona Bonfield seconded the policy's adoption.