Worried mums appeal to drivers to slow down

Parents living on the Hoggan Path Estate at Longcroft are terrified one of their children will have to be involved in an accident before motorists take heed of the 30 miles an hour signs on Cumbernauld Road.

They asked Falkirk Council to a meeting of the community council to try and convince them traffic calming measures should be installed – but after listening to their concerns it has said “no”.

Now they are appealing directly to the drivers to ‘take their foot off the gas’ before something terrible happens.

Mum of two Hazel Neil (36) is leading the campaign.

She claimed: “There is a 30mph limit in place, but a constant stream of cars come through our estate at high speed. Most of the householders here have young children and we’re very concerned one of them is going to be hurt very soon.

“We invited the council to our meeting to hear first hand how worried we are about the dangers our children face when they are playing outside, but basically told what we should do is keep a close eye on them.

“The council officers told us traffic calming will not be put in place because this was an existing road our houses were built on four years ago, even although the purpose of the road has completely changed now they are here.

“We’re all feeling pretty much deflated and anxious something serious will have to happen before anything is done to slow the cars down. Our neighbours are really worried because the children enjoy playing outside, and keeping an eye on them all the time is just not possible.”

A spokesperson for the council said: “Roads officers attended the meeting and explained how the council prioritises requests for traffic calming. They provided a summary of average vehicle speed measurements, vehicle flow measurements and personal injury accident data for Cumbernauld Road.

“Cumbernauld Road at Hoggan Path does not meet the criteria where traffic calming would be considered. The data indicates there are relatively few vehicles recorded as driving at excessive speeds and these should be reported to Police Scotland to enforce the 30mph limit in place.”