elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 9: Urban Development
It is only in the last few decades that the car has come to dominate every street. Streets are (or ought to be)
living spaces, an integral part of the community and the focus of many activities that link together
people’s lives. The way in which streets are managed and used promotes or discourages a sense of
community and makes them an attractive or unattractive place to live.
Layout and design in residential areas: design consideration for motor vehicles has come to dominate the
shape and layout of developments. This has often been to the detriment of other road users and there are
many examples where the road design and speed of traffic has discouraged pedestrian and cycle
movement because of concerns over safety. It has also led to the creation of areas that are too similar and
lack their own sense of local identity.
Developments should encourage walking, cycling and easy access to good existing or improved public
transport links. Minor access roads - these generally serve small groups of houses, up to 50 dwellings.
The document paves the way for the more innovative layouts sought, by describing roads which should be
designed for speeds of 30km/h – below the legal limit.
Road Traffic Act, 2004
This act states that;
9.—(1) A county council or a city council may make bye-laws (‘‘special speed limit bye-laws’’)
specifying in respect of any specified public road or specified part of a public road or specified
carriageway or lane of a public road within its administrative area the speed limit (‘‘special speed limit’’)
which shall be the speed limit on that road or those roads for mechanically propelled vehicles.
(2) The special speed limits that may be specified in bye-laws under this section are—
(a) 30 kilometres per hour, which shall only be applied in respect of a road or roads (other than a
motorway) in accordance with guidelines issued by the Minister under this section.
Guidelines for the Application of Special Speed Limits under S 9 (9) of the Road Traffic Act
2004 – issued DoEHLG, April 2005:
In applying special speed limits, these guidelines state that;
1. The 30km/h speed limit would normally be applied to a zone or area but may sometimes be
applied in respect of a single road;
2. The permanent 30km/h speed limit must not be applied to a national road;
3. The area should not include any road that has a distributor function – i.e. all of the roads in the
area should have a traffic function that is limited to the area itself.
The Planning System and Flood Risk Management, DoEHLG, Draft Consultation,
September 2008
Refer to information contained within Chapter 4: Infrastructure and Services.
“Roscommon Common Vision”, County Development Board Strategy, 2002 - 2012
The County Development Board Strategy sets an overall framework within which public bodies in the
county will deliver their range of services over the next decade. One of the three Strategic Goals is;
• To develop and enhance the economic well-being in County Roscommon so as to facilitate
existing and future economic growth, in line with balanced regional development.
The Strategy highlights a number of key issues, together with objectives and strategic actions to address
them with co-ordinating agencies listed, in relation to;
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 91