A DUNFERMLINE councillor has expressed his disappointment that the brakes have been put on his efforts to reduce speed limits on Dunfermline's single carriageways.

James Calder had called for a change in regulations which would have seen the maximum speed limit on single carriageways changed to 30mph and streets in residential areas cut to 20mph.

However, Fife Council's transport chiefs deemed that such steps were not necessary and said lowering the speed limit would have no effect on reducing safety.

The Dunfermline South councillor said he raised the original motion after receiving numerous complaints from residents.

"One of my constituents has said that while Fife Council can say there is no evidence to reduce speed limits, all they want is for their children to be able to travel to school safely," he said. "They need to use the bus to travel to their catchment primary and unfortunately, currently the infrastructure on Lapwing Drive is making it unsafe.

"They are having to cross Lapwing Drive to get to the school bus and the little children, of primary school age, are having to cross during what is generally rush hour and this is quite a scary experience and they have genuine concerns about the safety of the children.

"Having a 30 limit is going to have some kind of psychological effect and some kind of deterrent effect. To me, it seems like a no-brainer. I don't see why this road needs to be a 40mph limit.

"I am disappointed with the report. I felt that my role as a councillor here is to represent my local community and this was an issue that had been raised by people in the local area. I was, however, pleased to put forward an amendment that will mean that the speed limits of roads will be consulted upon on a case-by-case basis and hope to keep it on the agenda."

Council lead professional, traffic management (South Fife), Phil Clarke, told councillors that they adhered to national guidelines when looking at reducing speed limits.

"None of these roads have any significant crash history," he told councillors. "We work closely with agencies such as Police Scotland and Transport Scotland and there are no specific issues.

"In Fife, we have got a very good record in terms of road safety and I think our approach is in accordance with national guidance. We also did a crossing assessment two years ago and it scored pretty low.

"The speed is substantially lower than 40mph by being near the roundabout. Reducing the limit will not make a difference."