COMMUNITY campaigners who have battled for a pedestrian crossing at an A78 accident blackspot look set to finally win their fight.

Residents in Fairlie have been calling for the safety measure near the Parish Church and Village Inn since a survey was carried out in 2018.

Village resident Karla Tully has had a number of meetings with roads authorities in recent years and this week told the News that 'persistence has paid off'.

Roads maintenance operators Amey recently visited the location and say it meets the requirements for a new crossing.

Karla said: "I walked the whole length of the village and highlighted various options to Amey, based on feedback from the public and anecdotal information.

"The proposed location agreed should make it safer for children to walk to and from school and also to get to and from the beach and play areas in the village. It will also help with access to the main bus stops, Village Inn and village shop at the garage.

"The consultation period is quite tight - so we need feedback within a week to get it audited by an external safety accountant.

"We have also asked to look at providing appropriate signage so people are well warned about the location - if people are driving at 30mph as they are supposed to then there is not a problem."

The number of people crossing the road and the speed and volume of vehicles at different times all met the requirements for a crossing according to Amey.

Temporary traffic lights were installed earlier this week for test drilling to check for amenity cables to make sure a permanent crossing won't disrupt cabling powering the village.

Karla said: "In terms of pace, it will be done as quickly as they can, dependent on feedback from the village. I had a long chat with the project manager about it.

"I have asked them to review signage across the length of the village to make sure people slow down, and I have asked Amey to improve the way the traffic lights work at The Causeway. We don't want the two sets of lights working against each other or people getting irritated with one set then speeding to get through the other."

Karla says she doesn't think the introduction of the new traffic lights will impact on the viability of the crossing patroller's role.

She added: "Peak times for the school children means there is still a safety need for the lollipop crossing."

Councillor Ian Murdoch says he welcomes the news.

He added: "I am generally concerned about speeding traffic on the road from both directions, particularly speeding southbound traffic, so I am over the moon that Fairlie is to get a new crossing."

Community councillors Rita Holmes and David Nairn thanked Karla for her 'brilliant' and diligent' work on the project.

Villagers are invited to have their say now by visiting http://fairliecommunitycouncil.org/contact-us/