‘Saving lives should always be prioritised’
The claim was made at the most recent meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s enterprise and infrastructure committee, held on Wednesday last week.
Councillors were asked to consider a paper which recommended that a 20mph limit be introduced only where there “were likely to be real benefits”, or “where it can be demonstrated that there is a real requirement for such The mother of late Coupar Angus toddler Harlow Edwards says more needs to be done to stop preventable deaths on the region’s roads.
Sara Edwards tragically lost her daughter when the two-year-old was struck by a car while walking on the pavement with family members near to the east Perthshire town’s Larghan Park on October 13.
The 36-year-old was invited to give a deposition at this week’s meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s enterprise and infrastructure committee, where the local authority’s 20mph speed limit strategy was discussed.
Fighting back tears, Mrs Edwards bravely addressed the committee.
She said: “For over a decade, residents, community councillors and elected local representatives have been calling for improvements in road safety in Coupar Angus.
“Yet despite these pleas, the council has failed to implement any real or substantive changes.
“Within the last month, despite promises made two years ago to include Coupar Angus in a pilot scheme to make the town a 20mph zone, residents were informed that council officers – without any consultation with local residents – had decided to drop this plan, citing costs as the primary reason for this.”
She added: “Whilst we understand that Perth and Kinross Council is constrained by budget, we argue this is quite simply unacceptable and that safety and saving lives should always be prioritised.
“Indeed, the Scottish Government support this rhetoric with their 2015 Strategic Road Safety Plan centering on the premise that death or injury on Scottish trunk roads is both unacceptable and avoidable if the correct measures are in place.
“In order to meet the targets set out, we argue the most stringent approach is required in our area.
“We are asking if you will reject the 20mph limit in its current form.”
Mrs Edwards presented the committee with a petition signed by over 1100 demanding traffic calming measures in the vicinity of Larghan Park.
Councillors were asked to consider a paper which recommended that a 20mph limit be introduced only where there “were likely to be real benefits”, or “where it can be demonstrated that there is a real requirement for such a restriction”.
It was approved following an amendment incorporating the condition that 20mph zones be created where appropriate – which includes scope for traffic calming measures to be included as well as changes to the speed limit.