Admit you got it wrong!
The lights at Adam Smith junction
A KIRKCALDY councillor is urging transport officials to admit they got things “badly wrong” with the Adam Smith junction.
David Ross hopes the new area committee will agree to have the problems “put right as a matter of urgency”, by exploring all options to find a solution.
The Kirkcaldy North councillor spoke out this week, revealing the junction was one of the most common issues raised by the public during the election campaign.
Tailbacks
The traffic lights sparked long tailbacks and frustration among motorists when they were switched on in December following extensive work to create a ‘Green Corridor’ between the town’s bus and railway stations.
But now five months on, it seems there are still problems.
Cllr Ross told the Press: “I have been critical of this scheme since it was put in place. We were told to give it a chance to settle down and that people would get used to it.
“But it clearly isn’t working and the Council’s transportation officials need to put their hands up and admit they got this scheme badly wrong.
Queues
“Many drivers are cutting through side streets to avoid the lights, the garage at the junction is suffering and queues are causing problems for drivers wanting to turn into nearby properties.
“There are queues at the junction for much of the day now when these only occurred for short periods at peak times in the past.
“Everyone agreed the junction had to be improved for pedestrians, but it clearly isn’t working and even pedestrians are unhappy with the layout.
“Now that the election is out of the way, the new area committee will be meeting soon and I hope that it will agree to have the problems at this junction put right as a matter of urgency.”
He added: “We need to look at what the options are and whether there is a suitable solution. It’s important we don’t lose sight of there being a problem.”
Bob McLellan, the Council’s transport chief, said work is continuing to monitor the traffic signals at the junction.
He explained: “We are maintaining the balance afforded to traffic and pedestrians to increase safety for all.
“The state of the art equipment reacts to changing traffic conditions which should increase the traffic flow at the junction.
“However, we will continue to monitor the lights and adjust their timings as necessary.”
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Weather for Kirkcaldy
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Thunderstorm
Temperature: 7 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 7 C to 15 C
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