'Terrifying' - Fife villagers call for action on notorious road

That’s the message given to representatives from Transport and BEAR Scotland at a public meeting in Freuchie yesterday.

Several parents talked of the “fear and trepidation” of having to take their children to school every morning, while another resident said villagers having to use the trunk road were “taking their lives in their own hands” and were being forced to avoid using the busy A92 at peak times because of the risks.

“Having to cross that road just to get to and from school each day is terrifying, parents drive because it’s impossible to walk, something has to be done to make it safe,” said Freuchie resident Emma Morenikeji.

George Henry, Transport Scotland’s head of road safety, outlined the latest assessments of the key areas of concern and what improvements they could make.

“We are listening to concerns and we have committed a further £200,000 to the £1.7 million that we are spending this year on our A92 improvements programme,” He told residents.

But he warned that the statistical data being applied warranted no improvements to many of the key areas of concern.

He also added that the issue of A92 improvements was just one in a number throughout Scotland that was competing to be made a priority but said the issue of investment into the A92 would be reassessed as part of a strategic transport projects review within the lifetime of the current Scottish Parliament.

But that drew an angry response from residents.

“You say there is no evidence to suggest improving the road, we are your evidence, listen to us. Are you waiting for another child to be killed here before you do anything?” said one villager.

Howe of Fife councillor David MacDiarmid labelled the report nothing more than a “paper exercise” and the latest commitment to improving the A92 as “a joke”.It’s the second time in two days that Transport Scotland have faced a barrage of complaints and concerns over saftey on the notorious route.

At a meeting in Glenrothes on Tuesday, Transport Scotland’s report responding to the A92 Action Plan, which calls for urgent safety improvements to a number of key junctions along the route, was branded a whitewash and an insult.

Comments from the two meetings will now be fed into Transport Scotland’s ongoing assessment and further consultation meetings with a number of community groups along the A92 are to be arranged to discuss the issues further.