Bumps in the road

Speed bumps are to be put in place on East Academy Street, Steel Street and East Thornlie Street in Wishaw town centre.

The installation of traffic-calming measures was approved by councillors on North Lanarkshire’s infrastructure committee at their meeting last week.

It follows a request being received at the council’s environmental assets department and considered and consulted upon by the local area partnership.

Two objections were received – including one from bus operator Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, who noted that the streets have been used as a diversion route during town centre works, and“may also be used by school buses and [the] demand-responsive MyBus”.

They asked that parking on approach to the cushions be controlled to allow buses to straddle the speed cushions, but a report for councillors noted:“Preventing parking within this area would reduce the number of spaces available to residents.”

A local resident asked for bumps to be installed on Caledonian Road and suggested removing those at East Academy Street; the respective responses were that the main road is“outwith the scope of the current project”, and that “removing or relocating the proposed cushions would exceed the maximum recommended spacing, enabling increased speeds to be achieved”.