Shocked Clydesdale politicians have hit out proposals to increase speed limits on parts of the busy A702 Abington to Edinburgh trunk road.
Transport Scotland, following a review of the country’s speed limits, are recommending that they go up in Coulter, Lamington and Biggar.
And this news has horrified Clydesdale MP David Mundell and local councillor Hamish Stewart.
Under the Transport recommendations –
• The A702 through Coulter will increase from 30mph to 40 mph
• The A702 through Lamington will go up from 40mph to 50 mph
• At Causewayend, Biggar, the A702 will increase from 40mph to 50mph
• The present 40mph limit at the north (Edinburgh) side of Biggar, past The Showfield, increases to 50mph.
A disappointed Mr Mundell said: “This is a very busy road with more than its share of accidents and near misses and I know these recommendations will not be received well, especially in Lamington and Coulter.
“Large lorries and high volumes of cars use this main route which runs through small rural villages like Coulter and Lamington. It doesn’t make sense to increase limits here, especially in Coulter which has a narrow bridge and two sharp bends. I think increasing speeds in these villages would be detrimental to road safety.
“The increase at Causewayend also means higher speeds at the busy Symington/Lanark junction which surely cannot be a good idea.”
And he is totally backed by Councillor Stewart, who said he was “totally aghast” at the idea of increased speed limits. “It would be a disaster and I am totally against it,” he said.
People living in other villages along the route, such as Dolphinton, were campaigning for lower limits, and it did not make sense to up the limits in other areas, especially since locals had fought for years to get speed limits decreased.
“This is not good for the area and the proposals don’t really make sense. In Coulter, for example, you certainly could not do 40mph over the bridge,” he added.
Councillor Stewart added: “The 40 limit to the north has been fought for over many years as the police refuse to help control traffic at the Showfield entrance on event days if the limit is higher than 40.
“The 40 stretch at the south end includes the highly dangerous junction with the road to Symington. The introduction of a higher limit there automatically increases the dicing with death character of using the junction.”