Call to extend 20mph zone outside Fife school

A community councillor has called for a timed 20mph zone in Cupar to be extended, after taking part in the local speed watch scheme.
Watching for speeding drivers on Carslogie Road.Watching for speeding drivers on Carslogie Road.
Watching for speeding drivers on Carslogie Road.

Donald Adey joined the Police Scotland scheme, which asks volunteers to help monitor Fife roads and catch speeding motorists using cameras, earlier this year.

He noted the biggest issue he had witnessed during the four months he has been a member has been on Carslogie Road, when students were coming out of Bell Baxter and Fife College.

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A 20mph timed restriction is located outside the school and college at the moment, however, Mr Adey has contacted a local councillor calling for this to be extended to Balgarvie Road, or even as far as Bonnygate.

“It’s logical to push it down,” he said. “It would be better if it was pushed down even further. It would be better if the whole town was 20mph – it would bring clarity. The community council is looking at doing a transport survey. One of my points would be, do people want to see 20mph throughout Cupar, or extended in certain areas?”

He made the call after monitoring 33 motorists breaking the speed limit on Carslogie Road while the timed restriction was in place on just one day, with one driver even going as fast as 36mph.

“They come steaming down the road,” Mr Adey said. “If we hadn’t have been there, I think 95 per cent would have been going over 20mph.”

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He continued that while there are particular issues in towns and villages in the area, the biggest problem was the mindset of some drivers.

“The biggest problem is people not realising that speed kills. They don’t think it’s ever going to happen to them. They aren’t thinking what could happen.

“The object of the scheme is to make people think and make people aware. It’s not a lot to ask people to slow down.”

Volunteers have been working in Dunshalt, Gateside, Freuchie, Guardbridge and Strathkinness, as well as Cupar, signed up to take part in the scheme.

The volunteers monitor how fast vehicles are travelling, then note the registration if the driver is going above the limit. Police Scotland writes to the keepers advising them to obey the limits.