Speeding on approach roads to Mayo towns a concern

SPEEDING issues on approach roads to towns and villages have been raised at a Mayo Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting.

Councillors, roads engineers and the gardaí need to sit down and identify hotspots to set up speed detections to address the matter.

The facility to move around and have additional checks at locations where speeding is a problem was suggested by Councillor Damien Ryan.

His Ballinrobe colleague Councillor Michael Burke said the speed vans are catching people at easy spots, maybe driving at 5kph over the limit. It would be more important to have checks in the heart of the towns and villages and their approach roads, he suggested.

There is an overburden on the main roads where you can be just over the limit and you're done, but you can go into town doing 80kph in a 60kph zone and the chances of being caught were 'slim'.

Councillor Neil Cruise said the new sergeant in Foxford had arranged checks on the long approach roads into Foxford, with both Go Safe vans and the traffic corps. For example, people were flying into town on the Swinford road, past the school and businesses, and they really needed to slow down in that area.

Crossmolina member Councillor Michael Loftus said a council speed survey had been conducted recently on the R315, on the town's Castlebar road, near a school and playground. And the figures returned were 'staggering'.

One car was detected doing 135kph in a 60kph zone. Over 80% of cars were travelling above the speed limit.

That told him it wasn't being policed enough. He agreed a policy was going to have to be put in place in the municipal areas regarding speeding going into towns.

Chief Supt. Ray McMahon said speeding is something he would like to see addressed through a sub committee.