LDRSAberdeenshire Council spent more than £100,000 to keep a temporary crossing in Ellon for three years.
The lights on Golf Road were installed in 2021 as construction started on new affordable housing at the former Ellon Academy site.
However, they have finally been removed after three years, as the replacement permanent crossing is now fully functional.
A freedom of information request revealed the local authority had spent a whopping £105,100.65 on the Golf Road traffic lights.
While the total sum included the overall hire, it also included maintenance and call-out charges for the crossing.
It covered costs to remove and reinstall it over the school holidays, too.
The “necessary” temporary measure was put in place as the former pelican crossing on Golf Road was removed during building works at Schoolhill.
It was taken away to form a new access point for the affordable housing development.
Council officers said the temporary lights were needed to allow pedestrians and schoolchildren to get across the road safely.
The crossing was often removed ahead of school holidays which provided some relief to motorists.
However, they were quickly put back in place as soon as the new term began.
But doing this repeatedly came at a price.
When the new houses were given the go-ahead in 2020, councillors were told the crossing would be replaced with dropped kerbs.
But, members pressed officers for a new crossing to ensure the safety of pedestrians walking to and from the town centre.
However, there is another reason for the temporary measure being in place for so long.
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council explained that the local authority had to purchase land from the golf club to enable the new crossing to be installed.
He said: “Our role is to ensure that the infrastructure we provide on the road supports the wider developments in that area.
“Much of those developments, and their timelines for completion, are not owned by the council.
“Third-party land was required in order to provide the space to construct and install the lights.”
He also said the new crossing is a “significant improvement” on the previous one, as it can provide extra assistance to cyclists.
And this isn’t the only change to the area.
A new path through the Caroline’s Well Wood has been completed as part of the wider Ellon integrated travel town project.
It provides a link connecting housing to the north of the town to the centre.
“This has been an aspiration of the community for some time, and we are delighted that it is now in place,” the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, a path through McDonald Park is also being created that will bring people through the park and into the town centre.
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