[USMA:31720] Road metrication in Ireland

[Han Maenen]

Irish Times, last Friday December 24 Conversion to kilometres will mean a reduction in speed limits Martin Wall The speed limit on the dual carriageway at Belfield in south Co Dublin, which many drivers, including the former minister for transport, Mr Seamus Brennan, have argued is too low, is to be reduced further as part of the conversion of road signs to kilometres from next month. The dual carriageway currently has a speed limit of 40 m.p.h. It was identified by the former minister last year as one of around 40 roads where speed limits could safely be increased. However, D�n Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said last night that the maximum speed allowed will fall to 37.29 m.p.h. in real terms following the conversion to metric signs from next month. The new speed limit for the road will be 60 k.p.h., according to Mr Ken Fitzsimons, the county road safety officer for D�n Laoghaire-Rathdown Council. Local authorities are responsible for road speed limits in their functional areas. The council said that it had reviewed the speed limit on the stretch of road at Belfield following a request from the Minister last year. However, officials decided that the speed limit should not be increased. Mr Fitzsimons told The Irish Times last night that the speed limit was not increased on the grounds that there was a quality bus corridor on the road, there were adjacent cycle tracks and there were several junctions feeding traffic on to the road from residential areas. The nearest exact conversion for roads with 40 m.p.h. speed limits is 60 k.p.h., which represents a small reduction in real terms. Under the conversion next month many non-national roads will see their maximum speed limits reduced effectively to 50 m.p.h., down from the current 60 m.p.h. The changeover to metric road signs from January 20th is expected to cost around �30 million. The move will mean the installation of up to 35,000 new signs across the country. Metric speed limits are required under a European directive dating back to 1980 which maintained that the use of different measurement systems hindered trade. At the time, the government was allowed a limited transition period. � The Irish Times Han Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen, The Netherlands