The following motion which I submitted was voted down at the monthly Council meeting.

"That all new residential areas be designed as 30km/hr zones and have a 30km/hr designation and, if it is necessary to give effect to this for all future planning permissions, that the appropriate Variation to the Development Plan be put on public display, and that the report which the Manager undertook to bring to the September 2005 meeting of the Council in relation to designating 30km/hr zones be brought to the Council without delay." To be honest, I ‘m still not sure why this was voted down.

The Manager’s report referred to the designation of 30km/hr zones in existing areas.  It didn’t refer to the issue of new areas which the motion referred to.

I still don’t know if the motion would need a Variation to the Development Plan to take effect.

Nor do I know if it’s possible to decide to implement a 30km/hr zone when the development is still at planning stage. 

However, I will not let this go.   I still haven’t gotten an answer as to whether the new housing in Stapolin can be designated a 30km/hr zone, which I raised in January.

I have submitted the following question:

"To ask the Manager whether the permitted road designs in the new residential areas in Stapolin, which I understand were granted following inspection of the planning file by the Transportation Department, meet the conditions of the mandatory guidelines published by the Department of Transport, which must be adhered to in the case of 30 km/hr speed limit zones."

Additionally, I will be asking one of the Green TDs to ask the Minister for Transport whether it is intended that new residential areas could be designated before they are built.