Infrastructure Minister Jay Ebanks has vowed to rally his National Roads Authority troops to tour the Red Bay and Prospect constituencies this week in a bid to address speeding concerns.
It follows the approval of a private member’s motion filed by Red Bay MP Sir Alden McLaughlin which called on government to consider, as an urgent matter, traffic-calming measures for Selkirk Drive, Abbey Way and Marina Drive.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, 27 April, Ebanks agreed the matter was one of concern and one he takes “seriously”.
Though he said it concerned him that a motion had to brought to address the matter, Ebanks said his door is always open to all MPs.
The minister said action will be taken on the issue and he will work with McLaughlin and Prospect MP Sabrina Turner to identify the areas that require speed bumps and sidewalks.
Reckless driving, speeding
McLaughlin previously addressed the issue at a constituency meeting he hosted with the RCIPS at Seafarers Hall earlier in April.
And while speaking on the motion in the House on Thursday, he expressed deep concern over the excessive speeding on Mangrove Avenue which has been the scene of collisions, one of which resulted in a fatality last year.
He spoke of similar concerns about Marina Drive.
“Marina Drive continues to pose a major challenge, and I do not want to wish to speak this into being, but unless we do something about the speeding and the reckless driving on Marina Drive, somebody is going to get killed. I have no doubt in my mind, I see it,” McLaughlin told the House.
He said there have been consequences to speeding in the area and he was concerned about the general safety of all who who use the road, especially school children.
McLaughlin dismissed as “nonsense” claims that speed bumps would affect emergency vehicles and vehicles transporting boats to the marina.
“There is a responsibly by the government, the NRA, police and traffic to ensure the safety of those roads and if speed bumps are not the way to go then please find some other measure,” he said, adding MPs will find themselves having to send condolences to families over the unnecessary loss of life of a relative.
McLaughlin took issue with the NRA policy of requiring 75% of residents of a street to agree to traffic-calming measures, saying it is not in the law, but a policy.
He said while he understands that people do not like going over speed bumps or humps, when it comes to something that is the difference between life and death “we cannot ask whether or not someone likes what we are doing”.
“We have got to do what is the right thing, otherwise government is arguably liable,” McLaughlin added.
He said an objective approach, with safety in mind, needs to be adopted by the NRA when it comes to installing traffic-calming measures.
Turner, who spoke in support of the motion, shared the Red Bay MP’s concerns as she questioned where the bikes lanes and the sidewalks were which constituents have been “screaming for”.
She said apart from resolving these issues she would like to see more future planning for the constituency, including the clearing of culverts, changes to the drop-off and pick-up areas for schools, and the strategic location of bus shelters.
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