Roundabout solution for Lanark's traffic headache

But he was still a slip of a lad when folk started worrying about the town centre's traffic problem, one he now claims to have the answer to.

His solution is making St Nicholas Church the centre of a large roundabout, so turning the main routes in and out of Lanark Cross into a one-way system and finally ridding the town of the narrow bottleneck between the kirk and the Wide Close.

Jack claims it is a cheap, practical solution to a problem which has bedevilled the Royal Burgh for decades.

He said: "I'm not a qualified roads engineer, just a driver who lives in Lanark. The plan I've come up with is a simple, common sense one.

"Experts don't seem to like it; perhaps it isn't complicated enough for them.

"It's cheap, effective and I've got the answers to any problems anyone might see with it."

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council didn't rejcet Jack's plan but re-stated that the council had its own gyratory scheme for Lanark.

He said: "It is currently rated fourth in the list of major capital road schemes.

"However, given the current financial climate, the scheme will not be afforded high priority, although the council remains committed to it.

"The suggestions received will be considered further when any future scheme is developed."

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