Pedestrian crossings joy for Lochmaben

TWO new zebra crossings will be put in place in Lochmaben.

Annandale North councillor Carolyne Wilson says the crossings will be added near to Victory Park and on the High Street.

Since Victory Park was upgraded last February, there have been calls for a pedestrian crossing to be put in place.

Several people have attended the town’s community council meetings to say they feel the road is “dangerous” to cross due to the speed of cars and other vehicles. But at last there seems to be encouraging news from Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the issue.

Cllr Wilson says initially her request for a crossing of some sort at the park was turned down by the council. But after she pleaded for them to go along and see the road for themselves, officers ‘took one look’ and agreed it needed a pedestrian crossing.

Giving an update, she said: “I asked for the road safety team to go out and look at the crossing just before the summer holidays because the council initially said there wasn’t an issue.

“However, they were there for four minutes and decided there was one.

“They are looking to put a zebra crossing there which wasn’t what I asked for but I’m delighted about it.

“That will be done in consultation with the community council and the community.”

And another zebra crossing will be active on the High Street, near to the doctors surgery.

Cllr Wilson added: “We’re looking to put a crossing on the high street which will likely be at the doctors surgery.

“That will also be a zebra crossing rather than a puffin crossing because it takes up less car parking spaces.”

The councillor also stated that the crossings are expected to be in place by the end of the year or before the end of next March. It will be rolled out at the same time as the new 20mph speed limit in the town.

Community council chairwoman Kenelma McCrae was thrilled with the update.

She added: “This has been discussed here for such a long time so this is excellent news.”