Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 October 2025
86. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Transport the advice his Department provides to local authorities in instances where lorries and long wheelbase vehicles must cross solid white lines when turning through junctions. [53256/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from Councils' own resources supplemented by State grants. In addition, arising from the arrangements in place in relation to Local Property Tax receipts, the four Dublin Councils are largely self-funding for works on regional and local roads since 2015 and my Department no longer provides grants to these Councils under the main regional and local road grant categories.
It is the responsibility of the local authority as sponsoring agency to ensure that junction improvements and narrowing works are applied appropriately in the design of urban road schemes, and reviewed in accordance with the project objectives.
The Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) was first launched in 2013 by the then Ministers for Transport, Tourism and Sport and Housing, Planning and Local Government. The goal of DMURS is to address street designs within urban areas and ensure that the street design considers the type of place in which the street is located while balancing the needs of all users. DMURS aims to put well designed streets at the heart of sustainable communities in order to create connected physical, social and transport networks that promote alternatives to car journeys. As such, DMURS should also be considered in line with other guidelines such as the Cycle Design Manual.
While DMURS encourages the use of junction tightening and reduced radii, it does recognise that there are scenarios where larger vehicles may struggle to traverse a junction without crossing the centre line. DMURS provides specific advice on this matter whereby junctions can be tightened while still allowing HGVs to safely traverse the junction. This includes:
• Increasing the carriageway width at junctions to provide additional manoeuvrability without signalling to drivers that the corner can be taken at greater speed;
• Vehicular stop lines can be set back at signalised junctions to allow turning vehicles to cross the centre line of the intersecting street without conflicting with oncoming movements.
It is important to note that local authorities and their designers are responsible for understanding the surrounding environment, the number of vehicles along with the different vehicle types which a road scheme must cater for and design the junction accordingly.
