Seeing red over blunder at new traffic lights

Sep 27 2007

COUNCIL bosses were left red-faced after traffic lights installed as part of the £2.8m regeneration of Larkhall were found to be ‘SQUINT’.

A resident, who works in the building trade, hit out at the ‘toppling-look’ traffic lights in the town’s main street.

He said at least 10 new traffic lights are either sloping to the left or right — instead of being straight up and down.

It’s not the first time the new traffic lights in Larkhall have sparked controversy.

In August, the Advertiser revealed that green traffic lights in the town were protected by wire grilles in a bid to stop them being vandalised or stolen.

The first grilles were fixed on replacement traffic lights in Raploch Street in July.

A total of 205 traffic lights — the majority of them green — have been vandalised since January, 2004, costing the taxpayer a whopping £16,800.

One Larkhall resident contacted the Advertiser to complain about the traffic lights blunder.

He fumed: “I can’t believe that they have spent all this money on the regeneration and they can’t even get the foundations right for traffic lights.

“There are 10 new traffic lights in the main street and none of them is vertical.

“About eight of them alone are wrong at Charing Cross.

“Some lean to the right and others lean to the left.

“It gets worse as further down the street, at the pedestrian crossing, they go the opposite way.

“People are furious at the contractors for doing this.

“The council said the £2m regeneration of Larkhall is finished.

“The money has been wasted as the job has not been done properly.

“I would like to see the problem fixed immediately, as a lot of money as been spent installing these lights.

“It’s council tax-payers’ money that has been spent.”

SNP Larkhall councillor Lesley McDonald said: “I welcome the investment that has been spent in Larkhall, but I am concerned that something as basic as putting in the foundations has ended up wrong.”

Sheena Campbell, secretary of Larkhall Community Council, said: “I have received a few phone calls about people being unhappy at the quality of work in the main street.

“We will be discussing this issue at our meeting on Monday and will put it to the councillors who attend.

“People are really concerned about the lack of value for money spent on the main street.”

A South Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: “The council are aware of minor problems with some of the new traffic lights in Larkhall.

“This appears to have been caused by a slight problem with the setting of the concrete.

“We have instructed the contractor who carried out the work to repair the problem and any additional costs will be met by the contractor.”