Hopes that a temporary one-way system could be introduced this weekend to ease an accident blackspot in Selkirk have been dashed.
Townsfolk backed Buccleuch Road being turned into a one-way street from the Ettrick Bridge to the entrance to the swimming pool, with council bosses planning to see the temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO) come into force tomorrow.
Despite Mill Street being turned into a one-way road, a Scottish Borders Council spokesman said: “The introduction of a TTRO to make Buccleuch Road one-way eastwards is under active decision, but no final decision has been made yet.
If this is to go ahead it needs to be formally advertised and the earliest it could happen now is Friday, May 3.”
The measure follows fierce opposition to plans to remove parking from Buccleuch Road but keep it two-way.
The new order came after an accident and a number of near misses at Yarrow Terrace, which is closed to east-bound traffic as a result of a collapsed wall below the Glen Hotel. Selkirk Community Council chairman Graham Easton added: “Anything that can be done to ease the situation has to be welcomed and we are quite supportive of a one-way system. This is not going to be a short-term measure, this could be in place for a number of months.
A dispute over who owns the collapsed wall, which could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to fix, is in the hands of lawyers.