OUTRIGHT WINNERS Public Road Safety Initiative
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
Excellence in Services Awards 2019
Kerry County Council Public Road Safety Initiative
Kerry County Council is the Local Authority for the county of Kerry which provides a range of frontline services across five municipal districts.
The council functions are carried out by a workforce headed by the Chief Executive which reports to a council of 33 Elected Members. Kerry County Council provides frontline services in the areas of housing and community, roads, transportation & marine, planning, economic & community development, water services, fire & emergency services, environmental services and library services. It is the primary authority for County Kerry for economic development and for ensuring sustainable communities. “We work with multiple stakeholders, across many sectors to achieve these aims and see our role as vital for the wellbeing of our 150,000 citizens as well as the 2 million visitors to our county annually,” explains John Kennelly, Senior Engineer, Roads, Transportation & Marine Department. Looking to road safety specifically Kennelly says that in the decade between 2006 and 2015, a total of 119 people lost their lives on Kerry’s roads. In an attempt to greatly reduce these numbers a comprehensive Road Safety Plan was put in place to significantly reduce serious injury and fatality on the roads of Kerry. The plan set out four main objectives in the areas of education, engineering, enforcement and evaluation in the years up to 2020. The Road Safety Department are actively working with the community to raise awareness of road safety
with a view to changing attitudes and behaviour at individual, community, and organisational levels; To make Kerry’s road network safer and more forgiving of inevitable errors by road users and to ensure viable and appropriate enforcement, acting as a deterrent and increasing compliance with road traffic laws. Kerry County Council has many projects and various stages of development which are delivered under the auspices of government departments or agencies including the Department of Housing, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport. The council also works in partnership with Irish Water to deliver capital projects such as new water and sewerage schemes which are essential for the economic development of local communities. “We also work with communities and other interest groups to apply for grant assistance under various programmes such as CLÁR, Town & Village Renewal and the Urban and Rural Regeneration Funds under Ireland 2040,” continues Kennelly. With a strong focus on the community and on keeping the community safe, Kennelly closes by saying: “Kerry County Council has a proven track record of working with our community groups and business leaders towards achieving our common goal of ensuring that Kerry is a great and safe place to visit and an even better place to live and work.”
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