Wider driveway on busy Falkirk road approved to boost road safety

Widening a driveway on Larbert's busy Main Street will improve road safety, members of Falkirk Council's planning committee agreed today (Wednesday).

Some neighbours had objected to the proposal, saying a wider driveway at 116 Main Street would create a road safety hazard, as it is close to traffic lights and a crossing point used by school children.

Other objections were that it would have an adverse impact on the character of the area, particularly if neighbours also turned their front gardens into parking lots.

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But following a site visit to see the area for themselves on April 29, councillors agreed that it was sensible to create a wider entrance

Councillor Gordon Forrest said: "Having been to the site visit, as a driver I would have hated having to negotiate the turn into the current garden area with that sort of traffic.

"Rather than it being a problem for road safety, I would say it would be an enhancement."

The convener of Falkirk Council's planning committee, Councillor Billy Buchanan, agreed and remembered he had put a proposal forward "27 years ago that we should do away with everyone's front gardens because the problems we've got now with parking are absolutely horrendous!"

"It didn't go down very well with a lot of people but it's clear that a lot of people are now making driveways out their gardens and it's a lot safer for everybody in the community and not just for the owners of the gardens," he said.

The application was granted unanimously.

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