Work that could cause major disruption around one of the main roads into Cupar next week could pave the way for big improvements for pedestrians, drivers and residents.
Motorists have been told to expect long delays on South Road from Monday as crucial resurfacing between Ceres Road and Knox Gardens is due to be carried out by Fife Council’s transport services.
Temporary traffic lights will be in place until the Friday, meaning those travelling in and out of the town between August 8 and 12 are likely to be sitting in fairly lengthy queues in an area already known for traffic congestion.
However, Cupar councillor Bryan Poole yesterday said he hoped a number of measures will be looked into once the work is complete and he believes they will go a long way towards ensuring the safety of both pedestrians and motorists alike, as well as peace and quiet for long-suffering locals.
Mr Poole, a South Road resident, said traffic congestion, vibration from HGVs and even the clanging noises from water tobies not sitting flush with the ground will all be examined more closely in the coming weeks and months.
“The works that are going on are required to improve the road,” he said. “We’ve had a number of people in the area expressing concern about all sorts of things in relation to traffic, but the road surface is worn in certain bits so this is an attempt to try and alleviate the noise that comes from that.
“I live in the street, so I’ll have to put up with it and there will be a degree of disruption but I’m sure the guys will do their best to minimise that.
“The people who live in the street will be prepared to put up with it if it gets a better result for everybody at the end of the day.”
While a number of issues have been raised, Mr Poole insists speeding motorists remain the biggest problem in terms of road safety.
He revealed that further speed and traffic surveys are likely to be carried out soon.
“Hopefully we’re not going to need a bad accident before people who are travelling at those speeds get a grip of themselves,” he said. “There’s concern about speeding generally and it’s to a level enough to cause concern.
“There has been a higher police presence in place with speed camera vans, and I think the flashing signs as you come in from Kirkcaldy have been effective in slowing people down, but I think the speeding problem is going out of Cupar as people get to the straight and start flying.
“There’s a couple of road engineering things that transportation services could look at, but we obviously wouldn’t want to do more major changes without talking to local people first.”
The Courier understands figures from Fife Council’s transport department have suggested the volume of traffic in the Cupar area has not increased in the last three years a fact Mr Poole is surprised yet pleased about.
It is thought the signs put up have been successful in diverting quite a bit of traffic up to Melville Lodges instead of through villages like Pitlessie on the way into Cupar, although it is understood many satellite navigation systems used by HGV drivers typically favour the latter route.
Mr Poole added his hope that the planned housing development at the former Martex site on South Road, as highlighted in Wednesday’s Courier, will indeed go ahead but he also hopes that changes to road access that would come about as a result will improve the junction at Ceres Road if the development does come to fruition.