Here is what you need to know about Tipperary's new speed bump policy

Tipperary County Council have adopted a new policy on vertical deflections despite concerns of some councillors.

At last week’s sitting of the Tipperary County Council monthly plenary meeting, the council presented their new policy for the installation of speed reduction designs.

The policy has been under review by the roads SPC for a number of months, and a new policy was put forward for adoption.

However, several councillors raised concerns about the safety of pedestrians should the council move away from speed bumps.

What is are vertical deflections?

Vertical deflections design features used to support existing traffic calming measures like speed limits.

The council uses five types of vertical deflection. Those are speed bumps, speed humps, speed cushions, raised pedestrian

crossings and raised tables.

Raised crossings and tables have a dual purpose of providing space for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the road.

The new council policy was to phase out humps, bumps and cushions and prioritise raised tables and crossings.

In their presentation, council officials said that humps, bumps and cushions are noisy, cause damage to cars and cause problems for buses and emergency vehicles.

But they said those might be still appropriate on national roads outside of towns.

what’s the problem?

The chair of the roads SPC, councillor Michael O’Meara welcomed the policy.

He said the committee had worked on it for a number of months and councillors had a “big input into it.”

“I am very happy with the proposal,” said Cllr O’Meara.

He continued:

“Humps are out. Cushions are out. Bumps are out. This is a huge step forward for safety and something we should embrace,” said Cllr O’Meara.

Councillor Eddie Moran seconded the proposal, saying he believed it would be of great value in areas like Borrisoleigh which are in need or additional traffic calming measures.

However, several councillors raised concerns about the removal of bumps, humps and cushions.

Cllr Mairin McGrath said many people are contacting her and her colleagues, calling for traffic calming measures in their areas.

She questioned whether you could replace multiple ramps with one crossing.

“I think a policy that rules out speed bumps is mad,” said Cllr McGrath.

Councillor Jim Ryan supported Cllr Mcgrath, saying that people in residential areas are already vulnerable to speeding drivers.

Cllr Ryan said although he sits on the roads SPC, he could not support a policy that removes speed bumps and called the proposal “mind-boggling”.

“You couldn’t justify it. I couldn’t explain it to them, and it won’t be accepted,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Seamus Morris called for the council to reject the new policy as these features are used all around the country.

“Speed is one of the biggest problems we face as councillors,” said Cllr Morris.

Cllr Siobhan Ambrose said she also could not support the policy, calling it “beggars-belief”.

“Nothing slows traffic down like ramps. It is illogical to have raised crossings all over estates.

“I don’t know why there is a negativity in this council toward ramps. They really are the only solution to slow down traffic,” said Cllr Ambrose.

Support

Some councillors did support the policy, albeit some more tentatively than others.

Cllr John Carroll called on councillors to give the policy a chance. If it did not work, they could review it later, he said.

Cllr John Crosse said the policy was fine for older people but that young drivers would ‘try out their cars’ on the raised crossings.

Cllr Sean Ryan said he broadly supports the policy but did think the council should keep the option of ramps, bumps and humps.

Cllr Micheál Anglim said raised tables had worked very well in some parts of the county.

He questioned whether it was the place of the council to install a ramp in a private estate.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Ger Darcy said that he was willing to try the policy but was concerned about removing the option of ramps.

He said some bumps would ‘launch you into space’ but they do slow traffic down.

Compromise

Senior engineer Liam Brett said he welcomed the debate, but a policy was needed, and everyone needed to be on the same page.

He said the council needed to “strike a balance between road users.”

The director of the roads section, Marcus O’Connor suggested removing the line:

“Vertical deflections such as speed bumps, speed ramps and speed cushions shall not be used to protect vehicles, emergency services and cyclists.”

He said the SPC could look at that point further, but the policy could progress.

Chief Executive Joe MacGrath acknowledged the work of the SPC and the concerns of the councillors. But he said:

“It is important that we walk away with a policy in place.”

The dissenting councillors agreed that the removal was acceptable and said they could, in that case, support the policy.