BYPASS CALL FOR WELTON CORNER
A RENEWED call for action to improve traffic safety at a dangerous corner on the outskirts of Forfar has been made by a local resident.
Tom Simpson is urging Angus Council roads officials to revisit proposals to 'by-pass' Welton Corner, which sits midway between Forfar and Kingsmuir, on the B9128.
In a letter to Jeff Green, the local authority's head of roads, Mr Simpson asks why, with the recent introduction of speed restrictions forming "buffer zones" of 40mph at the approaches to various Angus villages, the Forfar-Kingsmuir stretch was not considered.
"I often drive on the B9128 and, entering Kingsmuir at 30mph, I am invariably 'tail-gated' by drivers intent on forcing me to drive faster.
"For the past ten years I have lobbied Angus Council to make the entire stretch of the B9128 from the Forfar boundary through Welton Corner to Kingsmuir a 40 mph 'buffer zone' but to no avail.
"At a meeting of Angus Council representatives and traffic police at my house, around three years ago, the traffic inspector revealed that their speed monitor registered an average speed of 42 mph round Welton Corner, therefore why not round it down to 40 mph as I have long advocated?"
Mr Simpson, who resides at Welton Corner, goes on to recall that, in the 1960s, there was a plan to by-pass Welton Corner altogether.
"This was dropped in the 70s when the average truck size was 25 tonnes. Today, 44 tonne trucks of 88 feet in length use this B road regularly and can only pass each other with great difficulty by mounting the pavement at one side and using the verge at our driveway at the other.
"By doing this they have now damaged the BT inspection pit and caused problems with the telephone line.
"Surely this B road is now quite unfit to cope with this type of traffic, therefore either the 1960 plan to by-pass Welton Corner should be re-activated or these huge vehicles should be re-routed?"
A spokesperson from Angus Council said: "We constantly review the safety of our roads, and recently created a number of 40mph buffer zones on the approaches to several of our villages in accordance with the strategy established last year by the council.
"However, we have no plans to introduce a speed limit, or create a bypass, at Welton Corner.
"Once we receive a letter from Mr Simpson, we will respond to him directly."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Forfar
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
