Plan to improve road safety in residential streets
Councillor Donald Kelly has revealed his intention to press for a full traffic management review of two Campbeltown streets where residents are being driven round the bend by dangerous parking and speeding drivers.
It is more than 10 years since Councillor Kelly campaigned for ‘20’s plenty’ signs to be erected in Davaar Avenue and Ralston Road – the first of their kind in Argyll and Bute – but he fears drivers have become complacent and hopes a fresh new approach will help ‘make people think again’.
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He said: ‘This has been a long outstanding issue which is gradually getting worse, with people parking vehicles on pavements at corners which is obstructing traffic and compromising the safety of pedestrians. Speeding is another issue which is affecting both housing schemes.
‘It is my intention to press for a full review of the traffic management, asking the council to consider a one-way system for both schemes and mandatory 20 miles per hour speed limits.
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‘I fully appreciate this will not be top of the agenda under the current climate, however, we need to put a marker down and look at ways to resolve these issues. Like many members of the public, I would welcome a mandatory speed limit of 20 miles per hour throughout the town.’
He said that the volume of cars in these areas could be a ‘sign of the times’, adding: ‘Houses that would have had just one car in the past, might now have three. Work vehicles are returning home at night and finding nowhere to park and are resorting to parking on pavements and at corners, something which is also causing an issue for buses.’
An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: ‘Anyone driving over the speed limit in a residential area is behaving recklessly.
‘Apart from endangering others, they should be mindful that they can be prosecuted by the police. The public can also report inappropriate driving to the police.
‘We have a Road Speed Limit Framework Policy, approved by council, for the selection, prioritisation and approval of speed limits.
‘This issue in Campbeltown hasn’t been raised with the roads department recently, but could also be raised through the area committee.’