Moray Council has zebra crossing at Applegrove Primary fixed but Forres still waiting on traffic lights at junction of Orchard Road and St Catherine's Road

MORAY Council is improving safety on a road busy with traffic and pedestrians including schoolchildren – slowly.

Following an eight month wait for parts, the local authority has fixed faulty warning lights on a zebra crossing outside Applegrove Primary at Orchard Road and has made the final preparations for the installation of traffic lights at the junction with St Catherine’s Road, nine years after the project was first mooted.

A council spokesperson confirmed it took longer than anticipated to replace a beacon light at the school crossing following reports of a fault last May.

She said: “A replacement pole was installed at the zebra crossing outside Applegrove Primary School on February 10 along with new globes as the type previously used are no longer available.”

Moray Council initially pledged to install lights at the Brig junction by June 2015 following a story in the Gazette in October 2014 about the dangers of crossing there, particularly for young schoolchildren. A crossing patrol officer worked at the busy crossroads until budget cutbacks forced her redundancy in 2019.

After a £192,000 commitment in the 2022 budget, engineering work started last June and the road was reopened after completion in October.

However, the lights were not installed due to “global supply issues” caused by the war in Ukraine – as well as a change in the company selling the lights. The council originally had a contract with Siemens for all traffic light components as well as design and supply but the German company put the traffic light section of the company up for sale.

The official date for installation has not been confirmed.

The spokeswoman said: “The traffic lights at Orchard Road/St Catherine’s Road/Thornhill Road have been prepared for the signal installation. We are still awaiting delivery of some equipment and work will be carried out once it arrives.”

Forres Community Council member John Innes lives at the corner of South Street and Orchard Road.

He said: “I witnessed near collisions at the zebra crossing while it had no lights - it’s a busy stretch. Parents must be happy the lights are working now. It’s great progress is finally being made at the other end of Orchard Road. Since the island in the centre of the road was removed there isn’t a lot of time to get across as previously you could pause on the island. Time will tell if lights improve things at the junction or cause more congestion.”