Conservative Councillor for Inverkeithing & Dalgety Bay, Dave Dempsey has welcomed a step forward in getting safe bus travel for the residents of Fordell Gardens.
Cllr Dempsey said “For the last couple of years, I’ve been trying to find a solution to the problem that residents of Fordell Gardens have in getting safely across the B916 Clockluinie Road to and from the bus stop. The road has a 40mph limit but not everyone sticks to that and pedestrians can’t see far enough up and down the road. The more elderly residents and those with mobility issues find crossing the road to the bus stop alarming.
“Initially, I took this up with Fife Council’s Transportation Service. A pedestrian crossing with lights was ruled out as the number of users would be low. The road isn’t wide enough for a traffic island. All that was offered was reinstatement of “elderly people crossing” signs and even that is taking an age.
“I’d more or less written this off when I had a conversation about the recently introduced Go Flexi service. This offers travel from Fordell Gardens to Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing or Ferrytoll and back again. The busses used are quite small, so I asked whether they would be able to turn in the bell mouth and so avoid the need for passengers to cross the B916. The answer is yes.
“Go Flexi has to be booked in advance, which is easiest via its app. However, I was told that anyone wanting to try it out here should make their first booking by phone, on 01382 540 624, and make the point that they want to board/alight in the bell mouth.
“Fife Council has just extended the Go Flexi trail in West Fife for a further year and the team in charge are clearly keen to adapt and enhance it during that time. So, it’s up to the folk in Fordell Gardens to give it a go. I’d be keen to know how well it works”.
ENDS
Note : for details of Go Flexi, see https://www.fife.gov.uk/kb/docs/articles/roads,-travel-and-parking/bus-travel-and-public-transport/go-flexi-west-fife. The app is available from the usual Apple & Android stores