Road safety improvements for A78 Fairlie

Efforts to reduce the speed of traffic going through the village of Fairlie are taking a step forward this week (Weds 18 March) with the installation of an innovative new traffic light system which will be activated by vehicles that are traveling too fast.

It is the first time that this type of approach has been used in Scotland and Transport Scotland has been working with its operating company,Scotland Transerv, to design a wider road safety programme to make sure that the lights are as effective as possible.

The new system, which will be activated on March 20 2015, works in conjunction with sensors in new road studs. These send a signal to the lights if a speeding vehicle is approaching, allowing the lights to turn red to stop the vehicle.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said:

“Road safety is a main priority for Transport Scotland and we use a variety of measures to help address the needs of local communities across the country. The actions we are taking in Fairlie underlines our commitment delivering improvements for the area.

“Almost 21,000 vehicles travel through the village on the A78 each day and these new signals will help reduce speeds, in conjunction with the recently installed road markings scheme.

“This work is being further enhanced by additional improvements including the installation of additional vehicle activated signs followed by new surfacing.

“The whole scheme will be monitored to make sure it is delivering the expected benefits for the village.”

Gordon Wilson, Contract Director for Scotland TranServ said:

“We are delighted to be the first in Scotland to introduce these vital road safety measures on in the south west trunk road network.

“The safety of motorists and pedestrians is our utmost priority and Scotland TranServ has worked in partnership with our client and Clearview Traffic to develop this concept to improve road safety in the local communities in which we all live, visit and work. ”