A registered blind couple say they are forced to go the wrong way on a bus just to cross the road outside their home.
Anne Cruickshank and Ian Petrie live on Dumbarton Road, Clydebank and say they have to take a bus in the wrong direction just to get their shopping in order to avoid a mile-long stretch of dual carriageway with no accessible crossing.
Ian, 87, who is registered blind and Anne, 94, who is partially sighted, say that the stretch of dual carriageway between Mountblow Road and Erskine Ferry Road has hindered them from being able to live independently and go to the shops for their daily needs.
"However, in the last six years, I've been registered blind because I have macular degeneration.
"I never gave it a thought when I was younger about having to cross this road; it wouldn't have been a problem.
"I want to go out and about, I want to be independent, but I wouldn't even dream of crossing the road."
The Glasgow Times visited the road to check the couple's claims and found no traffic lights, zebra or pelican crossing between these locations.
Anne says this has made it much harder for her to go about her daily business as she has to take a bus heading west to Old Kilpatrick to cross the road and then head east to her destination, the Clyde Shopping Centre.
Ian says he has struggled to cross or even flag down a bus as he struggles to see oncoming traffic due to a bend in the road.
He said: "I look up to the bend and say 'It's clear now' and start walking, but if you've got mobility problems before you're halfway, the cars are shooting down."
Anne continued: "As my eyesight deteriorates, it's difficult to see. If I'm on my own, I don't even try to cross that road. They don't keep to the 40-mile-an-hour speed limit.
"Some of them do 60-70mph, it’s absolutely ridiculous.
"I have to take the bus from here down to the Napier Hall in Old Kilpatrick just to cross over the road because there are traffic lights there, just to get a bus back to take me to Clydebank.
"If I go up to the health centre to get a taxi there, it's £8 and another £8 coming back."
The couple say they have contacted West Dunbartonshire Council; however, they have hit a wall after the council says they don't see a demand for a crossing and that they don't have the funds to place one there.
In a letter from the authority's Head of Roads, they say that while they "appreciate that there is no crossing for quite a distance", there is a limited footfall in the area.
Additionally, the area is not within the council's "priority list."
Anne and Ian say they have had to argue over what is defined as a crossing after the council suggested they use a dropped kerb. The picture below shows the section of road the council indicates has a dropped kerb.
West Dunbartonshire Council insist there are three crossings between the locations identified.
Two are uncontrolled crossings, which consist of dropped kerbs at the central reservation, and one is a controlled crossing.
The controlled crossing identified by the council is on Western Isles Road and does not serve to get people across the dual carriageway.
He said: "I think it's a ridiculous response because if you have visual impairments, how are you meant to see the know where the dropped kerb is?
"I think what the council's not taking into consideration is that there are a lot of elderly people living down there. There are people with visual impairments. There are people with mobility issues, breathing issues who can't walk the length of the road.
"If you're staying in the middle of that. That road between the two points, they can't make it all the way along in that crossing with the issues they have.
"It's very dangerous for the kids that stay in between that area as well because it's a busy road and not everybody follows the speed limit."
Anne says it has been frustrating to try and explain that there is no crossing.
She said: "I’ve been told by West Dunbartonshire Council that I'm wrong. There are traffic lights on the road.
"I’ve lived here 55 years, so if they want to come and show me where they are, they can."
Local MP, Douglas McAllister, says he has also been in touch with the council advocating for a crossing.
He said: "This stretch of Dumbarton Road can be very busy at peak times and often vehicles drive at excessive speed.
"Many of my constituents have additional health needs, affecting either mobility or vision, and this increases the need for a pedestrian crossing of some form at this stretch of road.
"I raised this with Police Scotland, asking them to consider an increased presence at the location to help reduce the speed of motorists.
"In the meantime, I have asked West Dunbartonshire Council to review and reconsider their earlier refusal.
"I have also requested that the Head of Roads agree to meet with me and my constituents at the location to discuss their ongoing safety concerns."
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A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the residents’ situation and have been in correspondence with them to outline the procedure and criteria in considering the installation of new crossings.
“Pedestrian crossings are installed based on usage identified by regular road and pedestrian traffic surveys to ensure they benefit the wider community.
“There are currently three crossings between Mountblow Road and the roundabout at Western Isles Road.”
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