‘It’s just too much' - Councillors blast €20K cost of traffic ramps

Donegal councillors have questioned why a single traffic-calming ramp can cost up to €20,000. Sinn Féin's Brian Carr and Noel Jordan have warned that soaring costs are leaving communities waiting longer for vital road safety measures. Glenties councillor Brian Carr said too many projects are stalling because of the price tag attached to traffic-calming works. He wants roads engineers to examine alternative designs, materials and methods, while keeping all required safety standards in place. “We’ve all seen the consequences and too many accidents, including fatal collisions," Cllr Carr told Monday's plenary council meeting. “I know we can’t prevent every accident, but we have a responsibility to put practical measures in place and to make our roads safer.” Cllr Carr said speeding complaints were being raised in communities across Donegal, including Fintown, Leitir Mhic an Bhaird and at the entrance to Glenties. “One of the quickest and most effective ways of slowing traffic is ramps, traffic-calming ramps in towns and villages. They work," he said. Cllr Carr recalled speaking to the operator of a GoSafe speed detection van in Glenties. “I asked him, since the new raised table was installed at the Comprehensive at the lower end of the town, how many people does he catch for speeding downtown? “He said he’d been there for three days in a month and he caught one person. Before that raised table was put in, he was catching dozens every day. “So they do work.” Councillors had previously been told that a traffic-calming ramp could cost as much as €20,000. "Everyone in the chamber was kind of shocked. That is far too expensive,” Cllr Carr said. He proposed creating a simpler system with a range of standard ramp designs which could be selected by an engineer depending on the location. “What I’m asking is for a quicker, effective way. I’m not asking to lower any safety standards. “It’s just a simpler system, maybe, for example, different types of ramps: Ramp A, a single-carriageway ramp, Ramp B, a raised table, or C. “The engineer would inspect the site, choose the correct standard design and approve it, and the contractor would be told to install it. “We’d make the process quicker, more consistent and reduce all the delays. “If we can reduce the cost of installing ramps, we can deliver more of them, and that means communities are getting safer in areas that need road-safety measures across County Donegal.” He added: “Ramps do save lives. It’s a practical, common-sense approach that keeps the same engineering and safety standards while getting value for money.” Cllr Noel Jordan seconded the motion and said the time taken to deliver projects was also a major concern. He spoke of proposed safety works at Dunkineely National School, where funding was allocated around a year ago. “But we’re 18 months later from that last incident, and it’s a year since the actual funding has been allocated to that, and we’re still not at public consultation,” he said. Cllr Jordan said parents and school staff were repeatedly asking when the project would move forward. “Now it has to go to public consultation, possibly in September. “We’ll be nearly into the third year before the works start. “That’s not acceptable. “There has to be a quicker way of doing this.” Cllr Carr's motion, calling for a report within six months on possible savings and quicker delivery, was agreed. Director of Roads and Transportation Bryan Cannon said the council recognised the concerns raised. He said there was no single design for traffic-calming measures and that costs depended on the location and the work required. Mr Cannon said projects often involved much more than simply installing a ramp, with drainage, lighting, footpaths and other alterations sometimes needed to meet safety standards. He told councillors the issue had already been discussed at the Roads Strategic Policy Committee and it was suggested that ring-fenced funding should be identified to help deliver projects more efficiently. "I also wish to highlight at this time the responsibility we all have as drivers when we get behind the wheel of a car," Mr Cannon said. "There is also an onus on us as all as parents, partners, siblings, friends, etc to call out poor driver behaviour because as a society we will all benefit." Cllr Carr said speed limits alone were not enough to stop drivers speeding. "There are speed limits up everywhere and they still speed," he said. “We need the ramps.”