Calls for Scottish Government cash to look into dualling Fife’s notorious Standing Stane Road have been dropped.
A motion asking councillors to back a bid for funding to upgrade the main Kirkcaldy to Levenmouth route was pulled at the 11th hour after it was pointed out the road is Fife Council’s responsibility and nothing to do with Holyrood.
Members of Levenmouth area committee have instead pledged to work together to try to improve safety on the A915.
Labour councillor Ryan Smart found little support for his motion calling for a government-funded feasibility study, which was prompted by three deaths on the road within six weeks in 2018.
SNP leader David Alexander said: “The difficulty is the mention of the Scottish Government.
“It’s a Fife Council road. It’s our road and our responsibility, nobody else’s.”
He added: “I have no problem with a feasibility study but we have to do it.”
The Standing Stane underwent a number of safety improvements in 2017, including a speed limit cut from 60mph to 40mph at the Levenmouth end.
Mr Alexander said the number of serious accidents had reduced since then and added: “There is nothing to suggest fatalities on the Standing Stane Road are the norm.”
He said further safety interventions would be considered at the conclusion of probes into the two recent crashes if experts felt they would make a difference.
“We can’t just go to Edinburgh asking for goodness knows how many millions with no plan, no costings. What would that do for our credibility?,” he said.
Mr Smart, backed by fellow-Labour councillor David Graham, had asked that any feasibility study look at options for crash barriers and average speed cameras as well as the possibility of a dual carriageway.
He said he was concerned a high number of accidents on the road was putting lives at risk as well as impacting on people living in neighbouring villages every time traffic had to be diverted.
However, after listening to the committee’s views and amid calls for members to work together to find a solution, he agreed to withdraw his motion.
“In agreement with my colleagues, I’m happy to take my motion away from the table just now and to meet up with the whole committee to look at a positive way forward,” he said.
