YOUR VIEWS

RECENTLY we have witnessed (and suffered) the laying of newer and larger road humps throughout the Calvia municipality.

The long suffering motoring public have another “restriction” to contend with. They are called speed humps, that is exactly what they are not. They've been laid everywhere with white chevrons painted on them. We now also have some of the pedestrian crossings raised in similar fashion.

In some cases we also have “depressed” or sunken pedestrian crossings, due to bad maintenance and/or weather damage, lots of potholes that are not repaired as well.

Do these speed humps save lives? Probably; Do they annoy motorists? Certainly; Do they cause damage to vehicles? Probably; Do they harm the environment? Certainly, extra braking and changing gear constantly will not improve emissions from vehicles.

Does Calvia council know that in other countries speed humps are being dismantled because of the number of spinal injuries caused to drivers and passengers? Will they be taken up for the cyclists during the Vuelta?

Last week in Palma Nova I observed a near miss as a pedestrian mistakenly used one of these ramps as a pedestrian crossing, fortunately no one was injured and a crash by vehicles behind the car, which had cause to stop suddenly was averted.

Did the council demand a traffic survey prior to this plan being approved? Who asked for them? Have these things been laid to the detriment of other much needed repairs and maintenance?

Maybe I'm just another Clarkson type “Grumpy old man” but I'd like to know other reader's opinions on these bits of road furniture.
Palma council have introduced cycling only lanes everywhere, and despite lots of protests they remain in situ.
If enough people are prepared to lobby our councillors regarding this issue, maybe we can succeed in having the wretched things removed, except near schools and old peoples homes where perhaps they are needed.

John Ballard, Palma Nova