Kirkcaldy to benefit from over £1.5m of road improvements

Kirkcaldy is set to benefit from over £1.5m of road improvements in the next year.

Members of the Kirkcaldy Area Committee have approved the area road programme which wil see £1.031m spent on carriageways, £267,000 on footways and £262,000 on road safety and traffic management.

A resurfacing project for Valley Gardens – from Valley View to Hendry Road – will be completed after being carried over from last year’s programme.

In addition, £54,041 will be spent on carriageway improvements on Winifred Crescent, £143,594 on the road from Mossmorran to the Beverkae Raoundabout and £200,727 on the B928 Windmill Road/Randolph Place.

There will be £155,264 spent on the A921 Kinghorn Road at Linton Court while £81,689 will be spent on phase two of the B923 from the east end of Golf Couse to access to Grange Hill.

Footway reconstruction, along with lighting improvements, will take place on Kirkcaldy’s Balmoral Drive and Melville Place at a cost of £216,327 while £76,968 will be spent on a footway project on the B925 Nairn Street/Victoria Road.

Road safety and traffic management schemes are also planned with schemes carried over from last year planned on Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Road, Pratt Street, the town centre as well as in Kinghorn Road, Burntisland.

There are £20,000 plans for a traffic island/buildout on the A955 Dysart Road at the middle lodge entrance to Ravenscraig Park, pedestrian crossing plans – at a cost of £80,000 for Hendry Road.

A total of £40,000 has also been allocated or a raised table zebra crossing on Barry Road.

The latter was welcomed by Kirkcaldy North councillor David Ross.

“I am pleased to see the crossing at Barry Road because this is used on the way to school by lots of people and at the moment, it is just a raised platform,” he said. “I think that will be very welcome.

“On carriageways, it is a bit disappointing that the Chapel Road roundabout is only a category two. I have raised this a number of times. I am still getting complaints about the state of the roundabout.”

Vicki Storrar, lead consultant in the council’s Roads and Lighting Asset Management Service, said every road was assessed and decisions were taken on priorities.

As a result, she said the Chapel Road roundabout had fallen down the list.

“We will keep it safe in the meantime. Also, if there are any savings to be had or if a scheme has to be deferred, we will be able to promote some of the schemes.”

Committee convener, Councillor Ian Cameron, was pleased to see the programme approved.

“Roads and pavements are something we’re contacted about a lot as local councillors,” he said.

“We’re committed to making sure Kirkcaldy’s roads, paths, safety and street lighting remain in good condition, despite the ever-challenging budgets so I’m pleased that we’ve been able to agree to this investment”