Councillors consider Mintlaw speed petition

Residents are concerned about the speed of vehicles on the busy road.

Twenty’s plenty could soon be the rule on Mintlaw’s busiest road after villagers raised worries about speeding motorists putting children at risk.

A petition signed by 112 residents has been sent to Aberdeenshire Council asking for the speed limit to be reduced from 30mph to 20mph.

Concerned parents and grandparents said they “genuinely feared” for the safety of their children and grandchildren as they walk down the busy village road.

Part of the A952 and is commonly used by drivers travelling between Buchan and Aberdeen.

It also leads to The Square and the village’s central roundabout, where motorists can branch off to Fraserburgh, Peterhead or New Pitsligo.

The road is also home to the popular Mintlaw Chipper and Buchan Indoor Bowling Club.

Residents say the volume of traffic has increased “considerably” in recent years due to new housing developments and people travelling to the city for work.

While South Street has a pelican crossing, locals insist drivers are often seen travelling “extremely fast” regardless.

They even claimed that a car had once gone through the red light while a crossing assistant was helping school children.

Residents believe people are scared to cross the road as they “do not feel the traffic will stop on time”.

The petition was considered by members of the Buchan area committee on Tuesday.

South Street resident Denis Scroggie attended the meeting to address councillors.

He said: “Sometimes cars go down there vastly over 30mph.

“It has been brought to my attention that sometimes they don’t even stop at the crossing when the lights are at red.”

Councillor Anne Simpson said she was “quite excited” that the petition had been submitted.

She said: “It’s really good to see that local people feel that they can do something by putting the effort in to gathering those signatures.

“This is one of the most common problems that people in our rural communities are bringing to us.”

Ms Simpson added: “I hope there is something that the council can do to allay people’s fears because it is a real fear.”

She asked for a meeting to be held with police officers to ensure that excessive speeding is addressed.

The committee noted the petition and asked for council officers to look into the issue and bring a report back at a later date.