Moves to curb speeding on a Fife road are to be driven forward amid claims transportation officials often “have too much say”.
Cowdenbeath area committee members have backed a motion by local councillor Peter Lockhart to try to help householders in the Tavern Cottages area of Hill of Beath fed up of speeding motorists on the B981 that links Cowdenbeath and Crossgates.
Backed by SNP councillor Ian Chisholm, the Labour councillor said: “Residents are quite upset about the speed of the traffic going through there.
“The volume of traffic is also high; I’ve sat beside the road and it is constant. It’s also used by buses and well used by lorries every 10 minutes there is a number 19 bus coming out the junction there.
“We have the Skene Group place there, and other lorries park up further down the road. There is also Woodend Industrial Estate and when the Quarriers Home is there, that will be an additional source of potential hazards.”
Mr Lockhart called for a raft of measures to be considered, including:
* The installation of speed-monitoring signs;
* A reduction of the speed limit to 40mph on the B981 between Cowdenbeath and Tavern Cottages;
* A move from 40mph to 30mph from Tavern Cottages to Crossgates;
* Traffic calming measures around the area;
* Support for a community plan to launch a speed awareness campaign to alert road users to the need to slow down.
Mr Lockhart said he has already spoken to staff at the council’s transportation services but claimed “they’ve been less than supportive”.
Flashing “slow down” signs have been agreed, which he admitted are “wonderful” at alerting drivers to the fact they are going too fast.
“But I would like to see the limit reduced. I cannot, for the life of me, see why we cannot do that.
“Residents would like a roundabout but that would be costly so I am not calling for that at the current time.”
Mr Lockhart stressed the strength of local feeling about the dangers.
“I did have a meeting with residents and expected there to be five or six people there but the room was packed. That shows the strength of feeling, not just from the folk from the cottages but folk living round the corner who are just as effected by speeding as they try to get out on to the main road.”
Mr Chisholm said he had been happy to second the motion and hopes it becomes a precedent for similar black spots in Fife.
“I kind of have to agree with the role of transportation officers here, that is one of the reasons I seconded this.
“They are professionals and do a service but I always feel they have too much say. We are the elected members and we should be having more of an impact on people’s lives.
“I’ve had plenty of situations with transportation and feel I have gotten fobbed off they do a survey and the survey shows there is no demand or suchlike.
“We need to have more decisions taken by elected members. This is not to decry the work of professionals but just to put a bit more pressure and give a bit more impetus to what local people say to get it into the system rather than being so divorced from people’s lives.”
Councillor Gary Guichan said he too backed the scheme and suggested a feasibility study for a roundabout in addition to Mr Lockhart’s other ideas.
The committee agreed to ask transportation representatives to attend the next meeting to discuss the problem.
Picture by George McLuskie