A Knightswood man claims he takes down “dangerous” damaged road signs himself - as “the council isn’t going to do it”.
Gerald Hillan whose house looks out onto the roundabout on Alderman Road, said he “woke up and seen the sign swinging out onto the road."
The signs that guide traffic around the busy roundabout are now missing after the pensioner removed them due to having no faith that the local authority would deal with the issue despite phoning them to tell them "it's dangerous".
(Image: Alderman roundabout in Knightswood)
Feeling as though he was just doing his “duty” Gerald went out onto the roundabout and took the sign down himself.
He said: “It’s road safety, it endangers people. Somebody’s got to do it because the council isn’t going to."
The 79-year-old added it’s “just as well I keep myself fit so I can do these things”.
Former blacksmith Gerald said he didn’t feel in danger whilst he got to work on the busy roundabout.
He said: “I’m used to it. You just watch out and make sure there’s no traffic. It was just a case of pulling it down because it was just hanging, it didn’t take long."
(Image: Alderman roundabout)
After taking the sign down in December of last year, the same issue happened again to a second sign on the roundabout “a few months later” which Gerald again took down himself.
It has now left one-half of the roundabout without the arrowed signs that help guide traffic around the roundabout which has resulted in confusion for drivers said Gerald.
He said: “There’s many a time that cars will come down here through the night that don’t know the area and they go straight onto the roundabout because the board isn’t there to show them where to go.”
However, Gerald feels as though his complaints to the council are a “waste of time” as he has “phoned up countless times”.
He said: “It is painful because you’re not speaking to anybody in the council, you’re speaking to roads and lighting faults.
“It’s not their fault but they don’t know anything you’re talking about, and they say they’ll pass it on, and nothing happens.
“I’ve never had anything that I’ve reported that has been done in a reasonable time.
“I pay my council tax, it’s just not good enough."
He thinks it wouldn’t have taken much for the council to take the broken signs down or to come back and replace them already.
“You’d think it was a big job for the council to send someone down that’s a wee bit savvy with a few tools, a hacksaw and a hammer and bob’s your uncle,” he said.
Gerald is thanked by his neighbours for taking the signs down, but when he asks why they don’t help him out, they say “it’s because you’re good at it”.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Arrangements are in place to remove - and replace - the damaged sign and lighting column and replace, with these works expected to begin later this summer.”
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