An Angus village has started a petition to reduce the speed limit of the road outside its primary school from 60mph to 30, claiming it is an “accident waiting to happen”.
The road through Craigton of Monikie has been a concern to villagers for several years, though in the past Angus Council has said it does not meet the criteria for a reduced speed limit.
Children have to cross the busy road to access Monikie Country Park from the primary school and campaigners claim there have been several near misses.
A new petition has been launched in the village in the latest bid to change Angus Council policy.
The campaign is being led by Fiona Gray, who has three children at Monikie Primary School and also chairs the school’s Parent Teacher Partnership.
She said: “This has been a long running issue. Children from the school and individuals have raised the issue with Angus Council in the past but nothing has changed.
“Now we feel that the only way to get something done is if we have the whole community behind reducing the speed limit.
“I would encourage as many people in the village, as well as those who visit the Craigton Coach Inn, to sign the petition as possible.
“There have been many instances where children have almost been hit, but thankfully no accidents. It seems daft that we have to wait until a child is badly injured, if not killed, before any action is taken.
“To us it seems like an accident waiting to happen,” she said.
The village has been judged to not meet Scottish Government guidelines in the past due to only six of seven homes in the village having ‘frontage’ on to the road.
However, with the primary school, popular pub, a B&B and country park all adjoining the road, villagers believe an exception should be made.
The campaign has the backing of Councillor Bill Bowles who said he had been trying to get the road’s speed limit changed since becoming a councillor.
He said: “Reducing the speed limit would seem to be the sensible solution. The road may not quite meet some requirements but common sense should prevail.
“I think the petition is one way to put the pressure on the powers that be to make sure we don’t end up having an accident that forces the issue.
“We want to get something done before that. I would hope that if a fair proportion of the population here signs the petition and says this is what we want, then people’s voices should be heard.”
A council spokesperson said: “We have reviewed the speed limit on the B961 as part of our review of all ‘A’ and ‘B’ class road speeds in Angus.
“In accordance with the Scottish Government guidance and Angus Council Speed Limit Strategy, it was deemed an appropriate speed limit.
“There are currently no plans to reduce the speed limit, however we understand that a petition will shortly be handed in to the council which we will investigate.”