Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Village to get new crossing and roundabouts
A new pedestrian crossing and two mini-roundabouts are to be installed on the main road through Calderbank after residents raised safety concerns.
Both options were favoured by the vast majority of respondents to a month-long online public consultation, carried out by North Lanarkshire Council staff following last autumn’s surveys of the B802 through the village.
The new traffic lights will be put in place just south of Calderbank Primary on the Main Street, with 94 per cent of all respondents backing the proposal.
Roundabouts are to be installed at the route’s junctions with both Crowwood Road and Calder Street, after 92 out of the 123 survey respondents voted for their introduction, agreeing with roads officials that they would “improve the operation of these junctions and act as a traffic-calming measure”.
North Lanarkshire Council said: “it is proposed that construction of the proposed road safety improvements will commence during autumn 2021.”
The work will also include making changes to Calderbank’s existing mini-roundabout, located at the junction of Main Street and English Row, by reducing its size, adding painted buildouts and widening the adjacent parking bays to two metres.
Improved signage will also be put in place both there and at the north and south entrances to the village, with the latter signs highlighting the speed limit and being accompanied by new road markings to slow motorists.
Studies were carried out “in response to road safety concerns raised by local residents”, who had highlighted the speed of traffic through the village and its increased volume since the completion of improvement works at the nearby M8 and A8.
Calderbank residents had launched a petition nearly two years ago to call for traffic-calming features to be introduced, particularly in relation to the number of lorries using the route; and a pedestrian crossing was installed earlier this year close to the existing mini-roundabout.
Researchers determined that lorries accounted for 10 per cent of all vehicles on the route through the village, while three-quarters of the traffic on Calderbank’s main road came from through trips without a stopping point in the area.
They noted: “there is currently no obvious and attractive alternative to the B802 [and] limited options to influence the numbers of vehicles passing within the village.”
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “public consultation gave the community the opportunity to provide feedback on a range of potential road safety improvements.
“We would like to thank everyone who participated in the consultation; all feedback was carefully considered prior to finalising the proposed improvements.”