Traffic | Motorists drive down the street in the wrong direction in Kauniainen – A former member of parliament rumbled about it on social media

Beauties Laaksotie on the section between Kauniaistentie and the train station has recently had several dangerous situations, says the former member of parliament Olavi Tupamäki for HS.

According to him, dangerous situations have arisen when cars have driven in the wrong direction against other traffic on a one-way street section.

Tupamäki made a solution proposal in the Puskaradio Grani Facebook group to prevent dangerous situations in Laaksotie. Tupamäki suggested that we should find out if the street could be returned to two-way traffic. Laaksotie used to be two-way before it was changed to one-way.

“During the last week, I have seen twice on Laaksotie when a car has come close to crashing into another car that has come in the wrong direction. The reality is currently that motorists drive upstream on a one-way section of the street,” Olavi Tupamäki tells HS about the background of his proposal.

Tupamäki, who regularly drives Laaksotie, has a parking space nearby.

He served as an MP in the years 1970–1975 in the ranks of the Finnish Rural Party (SMP) and the Finnish People’s Unity Party (SKYP). Since then, he has been influential in the coalition, for example as Kauniainen’s deputy councilor in the 2010s.

Tupamäki the proposal received mixed reception in the group. One commenter objected to Tupamäki’s proposal by reminding that motorists should know the traffic rules and follow them. Another commenter made a mistake by reminding that the problem would not arise if motorists recognized the traffic signs. The discussants therefore considered that the dangerous situations are caused by the incompetence of the drivers.

Instead of turning Laaksotie into a two-way street, shouldn’t motorists be made to follow a one-way street section, Olavi Tupamäki?

“I suggested that it be investigated whether Laaksotie could be made two-way. I didn’t directly suggest the change to two-way. Motorists could be made to comply with one-way traffic by increasing enforcement, but this sounds like a big ask. I don’t think the police have time for surveillance. Instead, it should be required that motorists follow traffic signs,” Tupamäki replies.

Police has not recently received reports that motorists do not follow the one-way road on Laaksotie, but drive against traffic.

“About four years ago, the police received several control requests for the one-way section of Laaksotie. The requests were probably related to motorists not following the one-way traffic. Recently, the police have not received a single control request regarding Laaksotie”, inspector Hannu Kontola It tells about the police in Western Uusimaa.