A BLANKET speed limit of 30km/h is likely to be introduced across Dublin city centre in 2009 to accommodate the new shared bicycle scheme being introduced in the capital.
Dublin City Council confirmed yesterday that it is in advanced discussion with the Department of Transport with a view to introducing the 30km/h limit in the core city centre area, which it says will be the one most affected by the bike rental scheme.
The new limits will affect the area between Church Street and St Stephen's Green and will also include the national primary routes that pass through the city centre, namely the north and south quays as well as O'Connell Street. Some streets in the city centre already have a 30km/h limit but the lowering of the limits from 50km/h will accommodate the new bike rental scheme, based on the successful 'Velob' scheme introduced in Paris last year.
Under a deal with the outdoor advertising giant JC Decaux, Dublin City Council will make 450 bicycles available at 'stations' dotted through the city. Users will have to register their credit cards to rent the bikes but will be able to leave them at any station.
A spokeswoman for the council said that a low speed environment was safer and more friendly to cyclists and to pedestrians.
The Department of Transport yesterday said the council had requested the amendment of road traffic laws and statutory guidelines to allow lower speeds on the quays and O'Connell Street. A National Roads Authority spokesman said that on the face of it a lowering of limits in the city centre area would make sense, but the authority had not yet received a request from the council.