Cork City Council to undertake review of speed limits in residential areas

Cork City Council is proposing changes to speed limits across the city in a bid to improve road safety.

The council has launched a public consultation on proposals that would see speed limits across the city reduced to 30km/h in most residential areas.

The proposals form part of the council’s speed limit review and would include 30km/h speed limits in residential and other areas, alongside changes to speed limits across the wider city road network.

At the start of 2025, local authorities across the country implemented a reduction of speed limits on all rural roads from 80km/h to 60km/h, and a further roll-out of legislation was promised to reduce speed limits in urban cores to 30 km/h.

However, when the current coalition Government took power last year, the Department of Transport said reductions would happen on a case-by-case basis rather than as a default, as had occurred with rural roads.

Help to identify relevant areas

Chair of the council’s transport committee, Labour Party councillor Peter Horgan, said the public consultation would help to identify areas where speed limits could be reduced.

“A 30km/h speed limit, highly concentrated in residential areas, is one way to slow down traffic and make our roads safer for all users,” he said.

“We have to mix that in with more pedestrian crossings, more amenities for cycling and more opportunities for public transport right across the city.”

The Green Party in Cork welcomed the proposal, with Oliver Moran, councillor for the North-West ward, saying there were “obvious gaps” in the proposed changes.

Gaps across the city

“Blackpool village and Wellington Road are two, but there are gaps across the city that communities will now have to fight to have included,” he said.

Independent Ireland councillor Noel O’Flynn said he fully supported “appropriate” lower speed limits in areas with a clear safety need.

“However, we also need to ensure speed limits are practical, proportionate and appropriate to the individual road. A blanket approach is not always the answer."

Sinn Féin’s Kenneth Collins said his party broadly welcomed the proposals.

To view the proposals and an interactive map, and to make a submission, see consult.corkcity.ie.

The consultation closes at 5pm on Monday, September 21, and the proposed bylaws will be put to a vote during the November meeting of Cork City Council.