Pedestrian crossings 'in wrong place' in Helensburgh

Aug 29 2008 by Tina Kemp, Lennox Herald (main ed)

TWO new pedestrian crossings in Helensburgh are in the wrong place, it was claimed this week.

Town resident John Black branded the crossings in Sinclair Street a waste of money.

And he blasted Argyll and Bute Council for squandering cash which could have been given to disabled children.

Mr Black, founder of the Scottish Jacobite Party, said the crossings, above and below the Upper Station, were “decorative but useless.”

He said: “I have yet to see anyone using them. They are in the wrong place. The lower crossing interferes with the public’s ability to stop for a moment or two and post a letter at the post box on the adjacent pavement.

“What was needed was a single crossing just above the station but below Munro Drive West, right where people want to cross from the station to the new sweet shop.

“We have paid for two crossings in the wrong place and need a new one in the right place to solve the problem of public safety.”

Mr Black said the money could have been used to make up a £30,000 shortfall to the Jigsaw group for disabled youngsters.

In a letter to Mr Black, Helensburgh councillor Ellen Morton admitted the crossings were not where she would have wanted them.

She added: “On operational matters we must leave decisions to the professional expertise of the appropriate officers.”

She said that the crossings were funded from the Scottish Executive’s Safer Routes to School budget and could not be spent on social work issues.