Nightmare of residents intraffic misery

Margaret Quinn of Castle View is one of the residents worst affected by the torrent of fast-moving traffic spawned by traffic problems on the M80.

“We’ve been left with literally nowhere to turn,” she said, “because even although the increased traffic is totally dangerous there’s nowhere nearby to park.”

She had parked on the pavement, in a bid to prevent a repetition of an incident she said had seen her car written off a year ago.

But along with her neighbours she received police notification that this wasn’t acceptable, and she reverted to parking on the road beside her Castle View home.

“My car was very badly damaged again,” she said, “and I know I’m not the only person worried about what might happen next.”

Another Castle View resident, Keith Mackay, said: “The volume of traffic has trebled here since the M80 bypass, and what used to be a quiet village can seem like an extension of the motorway now.”

He added: “It is getting so that it isn’t safe for children to cross the road.

“They’ve been talking about bringing in traffic calming measures for about a year now, but meanwhile things are just getting worse”.

Castlecary community council secretary Albert MacBeath said: “The situation is very bad, and should have been resolved by now – and this latest incident shows we’re right to be worried.”

The community council fought unsuccessfully to prevent the M80 upgrade going ahead, and continue to fight for effective traffic control .

Extra noise is said to be one added nuisance, but Mr MacBeath said basic safety is the main priority.

“We need action now,” he said.