Cllr Hill's traffic light mystery
0 - 0 • Published 21 May 2009 10:39
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Local councillor Alan Hill is seeing red over traffic light crossings in the district.
He told Transport Scotland officers that he could not understand how an unpopular pedestrian crossing could be installed near Pearson"s Garage in Largs Main Street while Fairlie is crying out for a crossing near the petrol station/bowling club area of the village.
The SNP councillor said: 'How do you get traffic crossings in a small village? It would appear that you are telling us that we need a large number of accidents at a particular location in order to get a traffic lights installed. I don"t see the point in that when in Largs, a site near Pearson"s garage had new traffic lights installed and I am not quite clear how that came about.
'I don"t like these traffic islands which are described as "pedestrian refuge areas". There is one near the petrol garage. Nobody seems to use it. The bowling green is further up so there seems no need for it to be there. It is in the wrong position.'
Fairlie Community councillor Alastiar Massey said: 'I sometimes cross there if I am going to the petrol station garage and I find it particularly un-nerving.'
Network Manager for Transport Scotland Scott Lees said: 'It is a good question - how does a small village get a pedestrian crossing and does the same thing apply to a town. We deal with statistics given to us by the Strathclyde Police and accident records are looked into.'
'All the statistics go into a computer - like a big sausage machine - and you must be fully aware that every community council in Scotland wants a set of traffic lights. We normally get around one request a week. We don"t have limitless amounts of money and we have to look at the statistics. It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation.'
Transport Scotland have recommended against a traffic lights crossing at the north end of Fairlie and Mr Lees stated that the same rigorous survey was used for both Fairlie and Largs pedestrian crossings.
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