Madam, – Is it safe to open only “stretches” of motorway? I sincerely believe our patchwork of roads that are variously of main road, dual carriageway and motorway standard is more dangerous than not having any motorways.
Will motorists really reduce their speed from a 120km limit to an 80km limit when leaving the “stretches” of motorway? I believe they will not. Likewise, motorists will not reduce their speed enough when their route is downgraded from a dual carriageway to one of the notorious two-way-traffic death-traps beyond the Greater Dublin area.
On the continent, motorways are complete trunk routes between cities on which one can plan and enjoy a relatively safe journey.
Shouldn’t our Department of Transport aspire towards this safer standard or, if short of funds,limit its ambitions to providing an integrated, well-surfaced, national primary route infrastructure to cover the whole country? – Yours, etc,