Residents in Falside say its only a matter of time before speeding drivers cause a death or serious injury in the the area.
And backed by local Bathgate councillor Harry Cartmill they have petitioned West Lothian Council for work to slow traffic down in an area where there are many elderly and children.
A petition with 92 signatures went before the council’s Environment PDSP. However roads engineers say accident statistics do not support the fears of local people.
A report to the committe by Roads Network Manager Gordon Brown said: “The Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIP) programme aims to identify locations where engineering measures are likely to have the greatest impact on casualty reduction.
"The Falside area of Bathgate has never been identified as a site for concern through the AIP programme and a review of our injury accident database for the latest five year period (up to 9 February 2020) shows that there have been no recorded accidents in this area. “
However Conservative councillor Bruce Fairbairn recently won cross party support for a motion to the council calling for a new way of looking at road safety rules which does not rely solely on accident statistics.
Falside Bathgate consists of six residential streets, Falside Drive, Falside Terrace, Falside Crescent, Boghead Crescent, Hardhill Terrace and Robertson Avenue built in the early 1950’s.
The area has a mandatory 30mph speed limit, however there has been a long-standing advisory 20mph speed limit in place with the appropriate signs and road markings installed.
The area is accessed from Sibbalds Brae/Hardhill Road at its junction with Falside Drive. Sibbalds Brae and Hardhill Road is the route used by the public travelling from Bathgate to the south side of Armadale. This section of road has existing traffic calming features installed in the form of road cushions and pedestrian islands.
Parts of the area have been included in recent speed reduction moves and Mr Brown said that the AIP was monitored regularly to take account of changes to road use.
