CALA taxi offer in road closure

A developer has agreed to '¨provide taxis for residents '¨affected by the closure of a '¨main route for up to five weeks.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st May 2018, 13:42 BST
Updated 1st May 2018, 13:45 BST

CALA told the Herald on Monday it also hopes to re-open the road sooner.

The taxi offer by CALA Homes comes after local councillor Paul Ferretti complained last week that people would be forced to walk more than half a mile for a bus.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Birdston Road is shut while work is carried out on a new CALA housing site.

As the main road from Kirkintilloch to Milton of Campsie, its closure on 
Monday, April 23 has provoked fury from residents, councillors Ferretti and Gary Pews, and local MP Stuart McDonald.

A spokesperson from CALA said this week: “CALA has taken a block hire from a local taxi company to assist residents, workers and visitors most affected by the bus stop closure.

“This will be effective from Monday to Friday from 8am-11am and 3pm-5pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It will shuttle residents from Lillyburn Nursing Home to the Kirkintilloch Lidl in Milton Road, and from the Kincaid Hotel to the junction with Campsie Road in Milton of Campsie.”

He added there would be additional support for residents with mobility issues and also said although there were no guarantees, CALA hoped the road may remain closed for three rather than five weeks.

Stuart McDonald MP, who has been at the forefront of concerns over the road closure, said: “Any closure of Birdston Road is going to cause significant disruption to local 
people.

“That being said, I’m grateful to CALA for their willingness to engage constructively with local representatives and businesses, to explain the engineering and safety reasons behind what is happening, and their commitment to keeping the road closure to the absolute minimum possible”

As the Herald went to press, Councillor Gary Pews said he had been advised by CALA “the road could be re-opened – at least in a contraflow – by the end of this week”.