5mph pavement driving limit 'unenforceable'

A suggested 5mph speed limit for drivers mounting pavements would be impossible to enforce, according to a Guernsey politician.

Environment and Infrastructure Committee president Adrian Gabriel was responding to the suggestion by Deputy Ross Le Brun. The committee has previously said some of Guernsey's narrow roads leave motorists with little choice but to mount footpaths when passing oncoming traffic.

Gabriel stressed his support for road safety but said a pavement-driving speed limit would be impractical.

"It's probably not a committee view, but I would see imposing a 5mph speed limit for driving on pavements as something which is just unenforceable," he told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"If I write that into legislation and then I ask colleagues at Home Affairs to tell Guernsey Police to start enforcing that, a 5mph, I will get laughed out of anywhere because it's just unenforceable," said Gabriel.

He added that "99.9%" of drivers acted responsibly and remembered that pedestrians could be using the same pavements.

The committee has said it will continue focusing resources on areas where vulnerable road users face the greatest risk while developing a new Road Infrastructure and Improvement Plan.

Gabriel argued many roads were constrained by historic buildings, walls and limited space and that removing the practice completely would require major infrastructure changes.

He said bigger vehicles were putting pressure on roads that had not been designed for modern traffic.

"Our roads were designed for horses and carts back in the 1800s, most of them, and our cars have been spreading," he said.

Widening roads through compulsory purchase would be expensive and difficult, he said, adding that motorists also had a responsibility to drive carefully.

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