The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Preventing right turns at dangerous junction is boon for road safety
Residents have backed new measures which will aim to improve the safety of drivers and pedestrians on one of Dundee’s busiest roads.
A central island will be installed on Lochee Road near the junctions with Cleghorn Street and Rankine Street by Dundee City Council, preventing right turns.
The work is expected “within the next few months” providing there are no further coronavirus restrictions which could impact it.
The area has been blighted with numerous accidents over the years and traffic regularly backs up at peak times.
After the work is carried out, drivers will not be able to turn right from Cleghorn Street on to Lochee Road, from Lochee Road on to Cleghorn Street or from Rankine Street on to Lochee Road
Left turns at the busy junctions will not be affected, but drivers will not be able to cross the road from Rankine Street on to Cleghorn Street, or vice versa.
Details on whether road closures will be required while the work is carried out is still to be determined, a council spokesman said.
Dorothy Walls said she has seen plenty of accidents in the area in her six years living on Cleghorn Street.
“For a while I was seeing accidents about once a week, but it has been quieter since lockdown,” she said.
“But it is one of the busiest roads in the city and that junction is a bad one.
“You’ll see a lot of drivers get impatient if they are stuck behind a car waiting to turn right, but can’t because of all the traffic.
“You hear a lot of beeping from the backed-up cars.
“I think stopping right turns there is a good idea. It will be safer.”
Tranquillo Pignatiello has lived on Cleghorn Street for around four years but avoids the Lochee Road junction if he can.
He said: “It’s a bit of a blind spot, even if you are turning left.”
West End councillor Fraser Macpherson, who first raised the issue at a city development meeting several years ago, said: “This is a sensible improvement and much needed.”
“You’ll see a lot of drivers get impatient if they’re stuck waiting to turn