An MSP has called for an urgent meeting to consider how the safety of the Stapleton Cross junction can be improved after community councillors appealed for her help.
South of Scotland MSP Joan McAlpine has asked the Network Strategy Manager at the Council to arrange for officials to visit the junction, after a site visit exposed the dangers of the crossing.
Eastriggs, Dornock and Creca community council invited Ms McAlpine to visit the junction, which sits between the B6357 and the C43a roads, following a spate of ‘near misses.’
Commenting , Ms McAlpine said:
“The B6357 is a fast moving road, which is the main route between Annan and the motorway.
“Approaching the junction from the Eastriggs side of the cross, there is poor visibility of east-bound traffic, with a blind spot caused by a dip in the road and exacerbated by the hedge that surrounds the field.
“Similarly, on the approach from Chapelcross, the visibility of west-bound traffic is obscured by a hedgerow on that side of the road. There is potential for this to be made worse should a car be parked outside the house, which sits on the junction.
“My constituents on the community council know this junction very well and don’t want to wait for another serious accident before something is done.”
During the visit, other road users stopped to express their own concerns about the safety of the junction.
Ms McAlpine said:
“With the potential for the re-development of the Chapelcross site, the volume of traffic using this junction is bound to increase.
“I have written to the Network Strategy Manger in the hope that officials can meet with the community council and visit the site to make suggestions as to how the safety might be improved.”
