Partner of dead cyclist calls for Dunfermline to Rosyth road to be closed
Matt Meade 1584 - 1584 • Published 20 Nov 2008 11:50
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THE distraught partner of the Dunfermline cyclist killed on the notorious Grange Road between the city and Rosyth has called for it to be closed down.
Luisa Palminha (33), of Buchanan Street, said it was 'not fair' that another life had been lost on the road after the death of policewoman Kirsty Allan last year.
Brian Taylor (29) was heading to work at Stephen"s bakery in Primrose Lane, Rosyth, when he was involved in a collision with a car travelling in the opposite direction, at around 1am on Saturday.
The driver of the silver Rover escaped with minor injuries but Mr Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Taylor had only recently started cycling to work when Stephen"s bakery in Monastery Street - a one-minute walk from the flat he shared with Luisa and her nine-year-old daughter, Vera - was replaced by the new Primrose Lane bakery.
Surrounded by friends and her daughter, she said, 'I asked him not to go down that road because it"s so dangerous, and I remember when someone told me about the policewoman who died on it last year.
'He was quite stubborn - but that"s what I liked about him.
'But something needs to be done about this road. It"s not fair that the man I love has died because of this. It should be closed forever.'
Grange Road has become notorious as an accident blackspot for both pedestrians and drivers, with around 40 accidents, including two fatalities, since 2002.
Six years ago, Fife Council considered closing the road for safety reasons but sided with public opinion to keep it open.
However, the speed limit was reduced on certain sections and a weight limit was introduced in 2005 to discourage lorries from using it.
A council poll of more than 3000 residents in 2002 showed 58 per cent were in support of a traffic ban.
However, the proposal attracted more than 60 individual objections and more than 1000 people, mainly from Rosyth, signed a petition against it.
Last year, off-duty police woman Kirsty Allan, from Rosyth, died on the road after her car overturned. Her son, who was three at the time, survived without serious injury. She was 24.
Douglas Chapman, SNP councillor for Rosyth, said this week, 'Any time you hear of an accident like this, your heart goes out to the family.
'I think there have been just too many incidents now on this road for it to be regarded as safe.
'There have been calls for the road to be closed before and perhaps it"s about time the council revisited that.
"I avoid the road myself when I can but I know many people use it as a rat run between Rosyth and Dunfermline.'
Fife Council has confirmed that £50,000 is to be spent on resurfacing work next year, on top of the £40,000 spent on 'carriageway patching' last month.
Yesterday (Wednesday), a touching floral display at the scene paid tribute to Mr Taylor, a keen fisher and X-Box 360 fanatic.
A card, from dad Raymond, read, 'Brian, thinking of you son. You will be missed. Love Dad xxx'.
Another card read, 'God bless you, Brian. I loved being your boss. It was a privilege. Goodnight Gnome. Alan', while another said, 'For Brian, you are my closest friend. For that I will protect and watch over all that was yours. Martin'.
André Sarafilovic, managing director of Stephen"s, told the Press his staff were in 'absolute shock' at the sudden death of their colleague.
He said, 'Brian had been with us for 13 years, since he left school, and had worked in many departments within the company.
'He was well known and liked by colleagues and the many people who come in and out of the bakery.
'When he cycled to work he took all necessary precautions for a cyclist and wore a high-visibility vest.
'Nothing can explain the sorrow we feel for his family and colleagues at this time.'
Luisa, who is originally from Lisbon, has stayed in Scotland for 13 years and met Brian while she worked as a cleaner at Stephen"s.
She added, 'I will miss him so much. He was a good father and was always playing with Vera.
'I will miss him joking around and how we helped each other, and will remember the times we went to Ibiza and visited my parents in Portugal.'
She extended her thanks to police and hospital staff and everyone at Stephen"s for their support, along with Mr Taylor"s family and friends.
She also commended teachers at Commercial Primary School, where her daughter is a pupil, for their support.
Police have made an appeal for witnesses to come forward.
A spokesman said, 'Investigation into the accident is still under way and any person with any knowledge of this road crash or who may have been travelling on Grange Road around 1am and saw either a cyclist or silver Rover are asked to call Fife police on 01592 251111 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'
This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 20 Nov 08
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Robert
Unregistered User
Nov 20, 12:31
Report commentThis road is in a good position but in a bad state of repair. It should be widened if possible especially at some of the bends. The reduction in speed limit has helped a bit but there are still a couple of blind summits. What a tradegy that two young lives have been lost in this way. Fife Council should take this into account and make the necessary improvement before someone else has to lose their live.
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Iain
Unregistered User
Nov 21, 12:20
Report commentGrange Road is a death trap - it is a relatively quiet country road, encouraging drivers to go too fast and to overtake recklessly and the road is of poor quality. This seems like a tragic accident with an element of negligence - the driver did not anticipate a cyclist at 1am, but then not many people would. This follows the tragic death of the police officer early last year.
The road should be closed to vehicular traffic and turned into a walking/cycling route, to link up with the "historic quarter" of Dunfermline. It could link up with other cycling routes in Fife, and towards Edinburgh and Glasgow. There is no need for the road as there are perfectly good roads to the east and west - A823/B980 (leading to Kings Road in Rosyth) and B9156 (Limekilns Road). This would be cheaper for the council who would not need to upgrade the road and they would need only to maintain it as a footway/cycleway. Any detailed analysis would point to the road being under-used: my suspicion is that the council want to keep it open in case of any large-scale housebuilding in the West Rosyth/Pattiesmuir area.
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Chris
Unregistered User
Nov 25, 00:54
Report commentWhat the council did with the Dunfermline - Hillend - Dalgety Bay road was excellent in provisioning a cycle route on a road not too disimilar in character to Grange Road.
Unfortunately this will not change the facts of what Grange Road has endured but surely to replicate a solution which works is a basic ethos the council and the traffic management brigade should be considering.
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Jacky
Unregistered User
Dec 28, 13:00
Report commentI agree with most of the comments here. I think Grange Road should be closed, and what is the point of the council spending thousands of pounds trying to upgrade it? It will never be without dangers, as people drive irresponsibly.
My thoughts are with Louisa, whom I knew from working at Sky. She and Vera are the ones most affected by this awful tragedy, and my heart goes out to them.
Sharon, above said, cars kill, and that is a fact. Perhaps irresponsible drivers should be taken round a hospital ward, where innocent patients who have been hurt in road traffic accidents are being treated. That would open their eyes and maybe have a positive impact on their driving in future.
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John S. Shaw
Unregistered User
Jan 28, 15:17
Report commentClosing the road will not bring back those who have died.
I am concerned that the accident investigators do not publish their summation of the cause of each accident.
I suspect that their findings will not site the road as a contributory cause of the accident.
This road is one of only two roads from Dunfermline to Rosyth the other being Queensferry Road.
The Grange road route saves fuel and cuts down on pollution as there are less stops and starts than on Queensferry Road.
I sympathies with those who have lost loved ones but the solution lies not in closing the road but in increased policing of those who use the road.
Remember this It is indeed rare for a road to cause or contribute to an accident alas the same cannot be said for those who use the road.
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No 1
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Jim
Unregistered User
Jan 3, 23:45
Report commentI have been using the grange road for over 30 years and I have never thought the road was dangers, and fife Council Roads have to play a great roll in how the road has developed over the years, ask the council how much money has been spent on this road over the past 30 years then you will know who is part to blame for a road that has been left neglected with holes and collapsed verges etc. You should also consider how easy it is for someone to pass there driving test? In most cases the new driver are not capable to drive unsupervised and should not have passed there test. My two grown up children passed there test and they could not even reverse a car let alone drive correctly, I retrained then to a standard I thought they should have been at when they passed there test and the pass plus well that is another story. The Grange Road is no more dangers that any other road. People come out with figures on vitalities and incidents in that case compare the M-A90 vitalities and incidents with Grange Road or compare Queensferry Road to the Grange Road I could go on and on. It is not the road it is the drivers at fault? If they want to make Grange Road safer stop Vans and Lorries using the road? If Councillors and politicians stop trying to gain brownie point and look correctly into things correctly.
Fife Council should be ashamed of themselves for disregarding public safety. I agree with the comments made be John S. Shaw. How can anyone pass judgment on situations that have happened on this road when they do not know all the FULL facts, only what they read in the papers.
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******
Feb 24, 19:51
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