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Traffic Calming
The traffic calming schemes funded by the NRA aim to improve the road safety of National Roads where they pass through towns and villages. It has been found that the posting of speed limits alone on national routes passing through towns and villages, without any physical speed reducing measures, does not induce drivers to slow down enough. Traffic calming aims to reduce vehicle speeds by self-enforcing traffic engineering methods. Slower speeds result in fewer accidents.
The speed reductions are achieved by altering the appearance of the road on the approach to the town/village through the use of "gateways" and are maintained by further traffic management arrangements within the town itself. The primary criteria applied in selecting towns and villages for traffic calming are the number and severity of accidents.
The NRA issued guidelines on Traffic Calming in 1998, and revised the guidelines again in 2005. See link to a pdf of the guidelines.
Guidelines for Traffic Calming for Towns and Villages on National Routes, Revision B February 2005
Up to the end of 2006, 136 traffic calming schemes had been installed in towns/villages on national roads.
As part of the current Road Safety Strategy (2007-2012), NRA plan to fund 20 traffic calming schemes a year, with a view to having all towns and villages that meet the criteria for traffic calming to be calmed over the life of the Strategy.
The Authority currently manages a Traffic Calming maintenance contract for the maintenance of the various traffic calming schemes on national roads throughout the country.
The Authority is also committed to the evaluation of the Traffic Calming programmes, and has carried out 4 year Before and After analyses on all the programmes to date.
The following are links to the evaluation reports:
1. RS.460 Evaluation of Traffic Calming Schemes Constructed on National Roads 1993-1996
2. RS 472 Traffic Calming of Towns and Villages on National Roads. Evaluation of Schemes Implemented from 1997 to 2002