Cork councillor calls for stronger traffic calming measures to tackle speeding 

A Cork city councillor has called for stronger traffic calming measures after gardaí reported a motorist was caught travelling 35km/h over the speed limit in the suburbs over the bank holiday weekend.

On Monday, during a St Patrick’s weekend road safety campaign, An Garda Síochána detected a driver doing 85km/h in a 50km/hr zone on the Boreenmanna Road.

Peter Horgan, Labour Party councillor for the Cork City South East ward, said the case highlighted an ongoing and deeply worrying pattern of dangerous driving across Cork.

“Once again, we are seeing completely unacceptable behaviour on our roads,” he said.

“Driving at such excessive speeds in an urban area, when many schools were off, puts pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users at serious risk. It is only by sheer luck that more serious incidents have not occurred.”

Increased enforcement

Mr Horgan, who is chairman of the city council transport committee, pointed to his previous motions to council calling for stronger traffic calming measures, reduced speed limits in residential areas, and increased enforcement.

“I have consistently raised the issue of speeding in our communities, particularly around housing estates and densely populated areas,” he said.

“We have to see faster rollout of the automatic camera enforcements and pedestrian crossings.”

Mr Horgan praised An Garda Síochána for detecting dangerous driving, while calling for expanded 30km/h zones across residential areas, investment in traffic calming infrastructure, and the introduction of automatic camera enforcement at problem junctions and stretches.

“Speeding is a choice,” he said.

“Every driver has a duty of care to others. Slow down, obey the limits, and help make Cork’s roads safer and calmer for everyone using them.”