Copy of open email letter of objection to East Renfrewshire Council regarding the proposal to remove the traffic lights and replace with traffic calming and a mini roundabout:
I am a native resident of Eaglesham and have 2 children (8 & 6) attending the primary school.
The proposal to replace the lights with traffic calming and a mini roundabout is both ridiculous and incomprehensible. This proposal and with the removal of the ‘lollipop man’ from the Eglington Arms hotel now leaves no safe crossing for our children.
Having grown up in Eaglesham I have witnessed many accidents at the cross before the lights were installed and can categorically state that the only safe option for the junction is to leave as is. An alternative would be to close the Moor Road to through traffic although after speaking with your colleague Mr Dermot McGonigle a few weeks ago on the telephone he said that East Ayrshire Council vetoed that proposal when planning for the Windfarm was ongoing.
It is clear to us that the danger in the junction is from transient vehicles – commercial vehicles, people commutting etc. Given the transient nature of these road users they probably are unaware of the risk they pose to young children by their ignorance of the presence of a school. From my experience these categories of road users have a careless attitude to traffic calming and mini roundabouts.
The council is in place to serve the needs of the people. This proposal certainly doesn’t benefit anyone as far as we can tell other than saving running and maintenance costs of the lights.
We hope you take this objection on board and abandon the proposal on the grounds of safety.