Emergency temporary 40mph speed limit introduced to section of A947 road
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A temporary 40mph speed limit has been placed on a notorious section of the A947 road.
Councillor Glen Reid requested an urgent safety review after there have been five accidents at the Rosehall bend, all opposite houses, since January. On two occasions, cars ended up on residential land.
Aberdeenshire Council road officers have introduced the 40mph speed limit from the point 180 metres south of Bridge of Steps for a distance of 772 metres northwards for three weeks from Wednesday, May 11.
Councillor Reid said: "At the end of April, following concerns from residents, I asked for an urgent safety review of this stretch of road.
"Since January this year, there have been five bad accidents at the Rosehall bend, all opposite residential houses. On two occasions, cars have ended up on residential land.
"I am pleased to say that officers have acted swiftly and have now placed an emergency temporary speed restriction there.
"I wrote to the Head of Roads this morning to ask for further information for both residents and commuters, and he has replied as follows:
'Following recent incidents at this location where vehicles have left the road, our Roads Safety Unit carried out a safety review on 03/05/22.
'One of the recommendations from that review was that the speed limit was dropped to 40mph and slippery road signs erected.
'The road was retextured in 2019 following a spate of incidents but it is now felt that due to the high volume of traffic which uses the road section, the surface has been polished up again thereby losing texture and leading to loss of grip for vehicles.
'Vehicle speeds are a main factor so by slowing traffic down and providing additional signage, this will help reduce possible future incidents.
'I can foresee this initial three-week period being extended until we have carried out works on site to deal with the issue.
'There are a number of options which will be explored including retexturing, applying a surface dressing course or applying a high friction surface (as can be seen beside pedestrian crossings, the beige surface with the small aggregate).'"
Councillor Reid added: "I hope that this will give residents and commuters peace of mind that it is being dealt with.
"I have received quite a few complaints from residents regarding the safety record of this stretch of road.
"The accidents are all happening opposite residential houses and cars have twice ended up on residential land. This is a danger to lives should people have been in their gardens at those times.
"These accidents necessitate the road being closed, often in both directions, for rescue and investigation purposes which mean residents are unable to access their properties, sometimes for a considerable time.
"The accidents are happening at different times of the day, in different weather conditions.
"Just more than two and half years ago there was a cluster of 13 crashes at the same area that residents expressed concerns about and eventually led to the road being resurfaced."
