The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Call for action to make ‘dangerous’ roads safe
Report: Study shows village is speeding hotspot
A north-east councillor is calling for urgent action to make two “dangerous” village roads safer.
Newmachar residents have banded together to call for measures to encourage motorists to slow down on t he 30mph Corseduick Road and Hillbrae Way.
It comes after recent monitoring studies by Aberdeenshire Council revealed the average speed of drivers on both routes is in excess of 40mph.
And last night East Garioch councillor Martin Ford called for the local authority to “prioritise” traffic calming measures, such as new road markings or signs, at the spot.
He said there was now “hard e vi dence of a speeding problem” in the village, having received complaints about the issue for years.
Mr Ford added: “Most vehicles are breaking the speed limit. The speeding problem on Hillbrae Way is an enduring and recurring issue which I believe needs permanent intervention.
“The speed limit is there for a reason. Both of these roads have people crossing, particularly Hillbrae Way where there is the Scout and Guide Hall.
“There is a large number of houses being built off of Corseduick Road. I understand police can’t be there every day of course, but it keeps on coming back.”
He added funding could be set aside for a permanent solution to the problem at the start of the council’s next financial year in Spring 2017.
Secretary of the Newmachar Community Council, Mike Taylor, said it was seeking the likes of a digital sign on the roads to warn drivers of their speed.
He added: “Other places that have these say they do actually slow people down. At the moment people just scream down here, down past the hall. It is a very dangerous bit of road.
“The hall is used a lot by all kinds of groups. I am quite surprised there hasn’t been an incident.”
Aberdeenshire Council’s head of roads, landscape services and waste management, Philip McKay, said: “Monitoring of this site has shown surprisingly high speeds, information which we are sharing with Police Scotland.
“To try to address this issue, in the first instance we will use mobile signage on Corseduick Road and Hillbrae Way to highlight inap- propriate speed to the offending motorists.
“We hope that this will then be followed up by enforcement and education action by colleagues at Police Scotland.
“If speed continues to be a problem, we will consider physical traffic calming measures andhow th i s work might be funded.”
“The speeding problem is an enduring issue which needs intervention”