I truly wish that the reason for denying SID deviations was due solely to terrain separation. The first obstruction is generally "noise". Airports are now regularly insisting that the one departure track is ever flown. A noise maximisation program if you like: the same people will get the noise, every departure, no respite. The next is that we are not trusted to fly visually (referring to the OP's initial post) because as I see it, a "jobsworth" is standing between a problem and a solution. What's worse is that these decisions are taken on our behalf with apparently little or no consultation.
Honestly, most days when I fly I feel that I'm an inconvenience and not customer of a service industry.
PM