Contributor Article

Dear Editor,

I write to you about new speed limits within the Douglas Shire.

In recent times some anti-car bureaucrats from their ivory towers in Cairns and/or Brisbane have, as always without any community consultation or published rationale, imposed yet another stringent, oppressive, and unnecessary speed limit restriction in our Shire.

That includes reducting the limt from 60km to 50km on the northern approach to Mossman, on the Mossman-Daintree Road from the Hart Street intersection.

There is also a follow-up new 40km speed limit right through Mossman on Front Street from the Mill Street junction through to the Council Chambers (as opposed to, sensibly, understandably and accepted by motorists) just 40km in front of the Junior and Senior Schools between William Street and the Council chambers.

This on top of recent, similarly unnecessary and unsupportable, reductions:

1) A 70km to 60km reduction along the several kilometres of Alchera Drive (one of the widest roads in the Shire) from Woolworths south to where Alchera becomes the Captain Cook Highway near Shannonvale Road;

2. A 100km to 80km on the Captain Cook Highway between the southern end of Alchera Drive and just south of the Mareeba/Mt.Molloy turnoff;

3. A 70km to 60km reduction on Cedars Street/Mossman-Daintree Road between Syndicate Road north to the old Atherton Street junction (after we taxpayers spent tens of millions of dollars on a recent, very poor, and now bumpier, upgrade to this section of highway);

4. A 70km to 60km reduction along the Captain Cook Highway between the Port Douglas Roundabout at Port Douglas Road and the original 60km reduction at Craiglie's Dickson Street.

These ridiculously slow speed limits offer no improvement to road safety.

There is no evidence of which I am aware of accident justification for these oppressive reductions in these areas nor any evidence of which I am aware of a reduction in accidents in these areas subsequent to the imposition of these reductions.

All they do is lead to increased driver frustration and possibly increased accidents through increased driver inattention.

Or is the real purpose to impose speed traps in areas where people naturally tend to drive at the older limits because that is what the road surfaces and the conditions tend to offer.

In the US, many speed limits are set by averaging the speeds of traffic over roads in certain areas, as the bureaucrats there understand that most drivers, on average, drive to the road's, and the road's environmental, conditions - a pity we don't have such intelligent thinking here?

Where is the community input into such draconian and frustrating, bureaucratic decision making?

Sincerely,

Malcolm McKellar