Public lighting is essential along Tipperary footpaths

At the recent Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel Municipal District meeting a Motion was raised that this Municipal District would erect public lighting along a section of footpath on the Clogheen Road into Ballyporeen. 

Councillor Máirín McGrath spoke on the matter and said the current situation was unacceptable: “I know the policy in place but this is a kind of Catch 22. We are falling outside of the speed limit because the footpath is there - for as long as I remember - it serves houses on the Clogheen Road and really maybe the speed limit should be at the bottom of that footpath but the speed limit is 300metres into the village. 

“Loads of people walk in the village all the time,” she said, adding that people were asking her all the time about when the repairs to the footpath would be done. The footpath is there so the public lighting should go hand in hand. That is where I have a problem with the existing public lighting policy. 

“Going forward I appreciate we can’t go outside the speed limits but when they already exist and they already serve pedestrians walking to and from their houses in the village we need to find a way to get public lighting erected.”

She said the speed limit should be reduced as well  for where motorists meet houses and said “that would probably be 300 metres out where the footpath starts as well,” she added to ensure that when cars got to an area with houses they knew they had to slow down. 

“I take issue with the public lighting policy,” she concluded. Cllr Marie Murphy seconded the motion asking if there was any update regarding the speed limit. She was told it was under ‘review’.

“That should surely feed into this Motion to see where we are at,” she said before adding “there are areas where footpaths have been built and people are out walking on them and there is no lighting.”

Cllr Murphy called on those present to ensure that this Motion ‘is looked at’ again when the speed review is completed quipping that “I can give you plenty of other motions along similar lines”.

The Council was called on for a comment in response to the speed limit review and the Council Representative said that “at the RSA conference in January it was kinda indicated that the speed limit review wouldn’t happen until 2025”. 

“We have been asked for some initial feedback with regards to reducing the speed limits on the local primary and secondary roads down to 60 kms whereas as a Local Authority we may like to see the speed limit remain at 80km.

“I expect the process to kick off really in earnest in the second half of the year. It might be quite a long process this time because of the extent of the changes they are looking at across the local network. I imagine there will be a lot of commentary on it. 

“I think with this extension of the speed limit there might be an opportunity there as part of that process to look at these types of issues.”