Mystery resident signs up to campaign to stop rat-runners

RAT-RUNNING motorists using an illegal shortcut have driven residents in one street into taking a homemade approach to try and stop them.

Drivers are using Prestonfield Avenue, near Cameron Toll, to the annoyance of nearby residents.

The so-called "bus gate" at the east end of the residential street is designed to keep out everyone except buses and ambulances on emergency calls.

But car drivers frequently ignore the prominent signs and sneak through towards Peffermill Road.

Now, with Dalkeith Road closed to southbound traffic for the installation of a new gas main, residents say the number of drivers taking the shortcut has shot up.

When the News visited the site, an average of a car a minute was ignoring the no entry warning.

A mystery resident has now put up their own sign in a bid to keep the cars away. It is tied by rope to the official signpost and reads "£60 fine 3 points on licence".

Neighbours are mystified as to who has put the sign up, but most approve of its sentiment.

Retired cleaner Margaret Gibson, 71, lives in a flat which overlooks the bus gate.

She said: "You get a lot of cars coming up and down and they shouldn't really be there. It's been worse since the roadworks. They park along here where they shouldn't as well, and I don't think it's fair on people that stay here."

Kate Arnott, chairwoman of the Grange and Prestonfield Community Council, said the road was frequently being used.

She said: "It's got sensitive since they closed off Dalkeith Road. The closure is also resulting in an increase in traffic going down Newington Road, Mayfield Road and Craigmillar Park.

"The matter will only really resolve itself when the road is open to us again but, unfortunately, people who learn about the shortcut are tempted to take it again."

Councillor for Southside and Newington Steve Burgess said: "It has been a source of concern, particularly at the parent council in Prestonfield Primary School because the children have to cross the end of the road, and if you get cars turning that corner into the bus gate it's a safety concern. Police have monitored the bus gate when they can, but they can't sit there all the time.

"I think some kind of monitoring would be the solution – a camera or something. But we do need to look at a longer-term solution."

A police spokesman said that officers were aware of the rat-run and monitored it. He added that drivers caught were likely to receive a fixed penalty ticket.

Chairman of the Prestonfield Tenants' and Residents' Association Adrian Christie said: "My view is that they should do away with the bus gate. It's just a nuisance. It would be much better if traffic could just flow through it."