Calls to make some footpaths one-way for social distancing
A local road safety advocate is pushing for Wexford County Council to implement a one-way system for footpaths in towns around the county as social distancing looks set to be with us for some time.
Phil Skelton has asked: ‘How can we realistically socially distance from others when the cycle track or footpath is mainly less than two metres wide?’
Mr Skelton is calling for a conversation around some of the issues and dangers that have presented themselves in recent weeks with regards pedestrians and cyclists as they bid to keep the required distances.
‘At the moment, for people passing each other, the choice is to step fairly far out on to the road or what I’m more commonly seeing is people crossing the road to avoid each other,’ he noted. ‘The downside of this is that people are noticing some drivers taking advantage of the open road and putting the boot down. I recently saw the speed message board flash up 83km/h recently on Whiterock Hill in a 50km/h zone. The Gardaí too have recorded motorway speeds in 50km/h zones at this time. Crossing a road when those type of speeds are being recorded is a collision waiting to happen.’
The latest figures relating for road deaths seem to back this up. Mr Skelton pointed out that, since the schools closed, six pedestrians have lost their lives on Irish roads in a period when there’s a reported 75% reduction in traffic.
In a bid to decrease the need to cross the road as often, the Wexford man is calling on the council to follow Limerick’s example and introduce a recommended one-way footpath, which he says ‘would go some way towards eliminating meeting other pedestrians on a footpath at the same side’. While Wexford County Council last week stated their intention to roll out stencils on footpaths to remind people of the 2m distance, on a lot of footpaths in Wexford’s towns, this just won’t be possible as they’re not wide enough.
Mr Skelton also suggested that maybe it’s time the council look at re-purposing some road space as everyone on the road, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, all require that little bit more space as social distancing becomes the norm.