Speed limits on local Leitrim roads to be reduced in early 2025

Speed limits on Leitrim roads are set to change in the coming months, following a Government initiative to tackle speeding.

Currently, regional and local roads have a speed limit of 80 km/h and national roads are 100km/h.

New legislation will reduce the speed limit on local roads from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

This change follows the deaths of 184 people on Irish roads in 2023, up almost 20 percent in a year.

Local roads can only retain the 80 km/h limit if they meet specific criteria. 

One of these criteria is that the road must be wider than 5.5 metres and must have a limited number of junctions. 

If there are more than six to eight access points per kilometre, the speed limit cannot be maintained at 80 km/h. 

Additionally, roads with poor horizontal alignment or those designated for vulnerable users, such as cyclists or pedestrians, are also prohibited from retaining the 80 km/h limit.

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In Leitrim, 16 rural roads met the width requirement of being over 5.5 metre, but none met enough of the necessary criteria to remain at 80 km/h.

Therefore, Leitrim County Council has determined that the speed limit for all local rural roads in the county will be set at 60 km/h, and no additional bylaws are necessary.

Funding will be provided by the Department of Transport for new speed signs. 

This change was originally set to begin at the end of November this year; however, due to a nationwide delay in obtaining road sign poles, it will now be implemented at the end of January or early February next year.

The reduced speed limits will be introduced gradually, with changes to urban roads also expected sometime next year.

Councillors have been updated by engineers from Leitrim County Council regarding the forthcoming changes during their respective municipal district meetings.

“I think this is welcomed, a lot of these roads never should have been 80 kilometres,” said Cllr Paddy O'Rourke.

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