Speed bumps will be installed outside an Angus school despite a lack of public demand and a vote that split councillors.
And spending £16,500 on traffic calming outside St Margaret’s Primary School in Montrose was questioned as “not the best use of money” by members on Angus Council’s communities committee.
Local authority officers judged the Twenty’s Plenty scheme has not stopped speeding in Blackfriars Street, or Durham Street in Monifieth, and advised road bumps should be installed at a total cost of £23,250.
But council leader Iain Gaul and fellow SNP councillor Bill Duff spoke out against the wisdom of spending more money where a 20mph limit should already be legally enforced.
Mr Duff said there had been a “very low” 17% response rate to public consultation around the Montrose street.
“The street itself is not what I’d call a rat run at 300 metres long,” he said, adding that bends at both road ends are “natural” traffic-calming measures.
“In some ways I would say, not a very good use of £16,500 and we could better spend that money on safety measures elsewhere.”
Mr Duff proposed an amendment deleting the Montrose bumps from proposals, seconded by Mr Gaul.
He asked whether 20mph signs and flashing lights to warn drivers about the school’s proximity were in place, which was confirmed by senior roads service manager Ian Cochrane.
He asked: “So if you’ve got legally enforceable lights outside the school, why do we also need traffic calming?
Mr Cochrane said: “We’ve had a look at the success of these (Twenty’s Plenty schemes) across Angus and there are a number that have been relatively successful and a number that were not.
“Of those that speeds haven’t been significantly reduced, which were reported to you previously, we were minded to go to consultation on the use of speed humps to reduce the speeds there’s five in front of you today and two we’re recommending physical measures for because that is the view from consultations.”
Traffic calming was also originally proposed for Osprey Road in Piperdam, Tayside Street and Macdonald Smith Drive in Carnoustie.
But only 46% of people in Osprey Road, 47% of people in Tayside Street and 48% of people in MacDonald Smith Drive were in favour of the work being carried out.
A vote on the report approved bumps for both streets, by eight votes to six. Both sums will come from the road division’s 2014/15 capital budget.