Safety fears as Cambuslang bollards are smashed

Feb 3 2010 by Kenny Smith, Rutherglen Reformer

RECKLESS motorists in Cambuslang are putting lives at risk by careless driving, while costing South Lanarkshire Council thousands of pounds.

The council installed bollards in Cambuslang’s Main Street, beside the Ritz Bar, to prevent motorists from parking illegally - and dangerously - in the area.

But the bollards have been repeatedly damaged when drivers tried to park vehicles sin the delivery lane at the side of the bar.

Cambuslang West SNP councillor Clare McColl said: “I met recently with council officers as we’ve had a problem with the bollards outside the Ritz Bar and Greggs.

“Not too many months ago, I spoke to the roads department and we had the bollards replaced.

“But now, one has been uprooted - right out of the ground -with a piece of slab on it, while another has completely disappeared.

“I’m up and down the Main Street every day, and I’ve been told on good authority it was a 4x4 which knocked it down, not a delivery lorry.

“It’s ridiculous that cars are looking for spaces through the back when it’s a delivery yard.

“I would like to ask drivers, whether they are in a car or in a lorry, to be extra-careful around this area, especially as there are so many pedestrians about. Bollards are put there for a reason - to protect the public.”

“If a lorry driver is making a delivery and has to reverse back out, can I suggest they ask a member of staff to help them while they are reversing, for the sake of everyone’s safety?

“My concern is for public safety - I just hope drivers are cautious and careful.

She added: “It also costs to have these bollards replaced at a time when we are all tightening our belts.

“The council officers have told me they will be re-installed in four to six weeks.”

Cambuslang Community Council chairman Jack Taylor said: “It’s been an ongoing problem. One has to wonder if they are actually serving their purpose.

“You have to ask yourself if they are too low so that drivers, particularly in commercial vehicles, can’t see them.

“However, if they are too high they then become an obstruction for pedestrians. There are a lot of factors involved.

“For want of a comparison, at the bottom of Buchanan Drive at the junction with Brownside Road, there is a very narrow pavement and there used to be a fence there.

“It took a lots of bashes each and every winter and it got to the point where the council just took it away. Will they do that with these bollards?”

A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said: “The steel bollards on Main Street are part of the integrated design of the streetscape and prevent vehicles from mounting the footway. Unfortunately, careless drivers are damaging these bollards.

“We will have the damaged bollards replaced with new steel bollards to maintain the appearance of the Main Street.”