TRAFFIC FRIGHTS
Youngster suffered serious injuries
New safety measures are needed for a busy Rutherglen road before someone is killed, worried locals have claimed.
A young boy was recently struck by a car on Fernhill Road and suffered injuries, and residents have told the Reformer they fear another accident could be fatal.
South Lanarkshire Council have previously rebuffed any attempts to install traffic lights at the road, saying the volume of traffic travelling there is not high enough to justify it.
Local resident Davy O’Neill blasted: “It’s a nightmare down there and it’s like a racetrack at times. A lot of traffic just flies down there.”
Fernhill residents have once again called for safety measures to be introduced on a “dangerous” local road after a young boy was struck by a car.
Locals have previously demanded that traffic lights be installed on Fernhill Road as a preventative measure, but South Lanarkshire Council has refused, pointing to the safety measures that are already in place.
However, two weeks ago a serious accident saw a young boy struck by a vehicle and suffer injuries. Now locals fear that unless action is taken, a fatality may occur.
Fernhill resident Davy O’Neill said: “It’s a nightmare down there and it’s like a racetrack at times.
“You always have people thinking they can beat the car there at the chicanes and they can’t.
“A lot of traffic just flies down there and trying to get across the road is a risk every time. For the amount of money that’s been spent on doing up zebra crossings you’d think they could find a bit more to put in traffic lights and give a more permanent solution. Everything else is just trying to work around the problem, not solve it.”
Davy added: “There are a number of pensioners living around there too.
“There’s also a swing park and then you have Fernhill shops, so there are always people trying to go back and forth. I’ve lost count of the number of pensioners who’ve told me they don’t feel safe walking across it.”
Rutherglen South councillor Margaret Cowie has backed the calls for action on the road.
She said: “People do try and race through the chicanes there.
“I would support some new traffic calming measures because there’s a lot of pensioners who say they hate crossing there, and then there are accidents like last week.
“I’d support the community in trying to get something there. I’ve raised it with the roads department already and am hoping that once Covid restrictions ease up we can meet the traffic officers there and show them what it’s like.”
South Lanarkshire Council said it would look at the data surrounding traffic in the area again, before deciding on any action.
Head of roads and transportation, Gordon Mackay, said: “Our thoughts are with the young person involved in this accident and we hope he makes a full recovery soon.
“We are awaiting the report from our colleagues in Police Scotland on this incident. We will then analyse the data and decide if any further action is needed.
“It should be noted that there are already zebra crossings on Fernhill Road, as well as vehicle activated signs to encourage appropriate road user behaviour and provide safe crossing opportunities.”
You’d think they could put in traffic lights and give a more permanent solution Davy O’Neil