A village which has seen 2,000 lorries a day rumble through its narrow streets will be the site of a traffic management trial to find out if HGVs can be deterred from using it as a short cut.
Signs recommending HGV drivers choose the motorway instead could go up in Newton and the road will be narrowed during the six week trial.
Linlithgow local area committee heard last August there had been a 20 per cent increase in all traffic, including HGVs, through Newton since the opening of the Queensferry Crossing.
The A904 road which passes through the village is the most direct link between the new Firth of Forth crossing and the western direction of the M9.
Villagers had asked for noise and vibration surveys. While these could not be carried out, traffic survey results found that most lorries travelled through the village in the early hours between 4am and 7.30am.
The results of the trial to run for six weeks over the summer will be reported back to the Linlithgow local area committee in the Autumn.
Newton Community Council has long raised concerns about traffic and safety issues. The pavement is very narrow at points on the main street, with villagers' homes close to the road.
Gordon Brown, the council’s roads network manager told Linlithgow local area committee yesterday (Tuesday) that the village street will have what is known as a priority build out, effectively a narrowing of the road at both east and west ends of the village to a single lane. New signs will tell drivers to give priority to oncoming vehicles.
The community council also requested that additional signs recommending the use of the motorway be put up. Officers agreed to look at this as part of the trial.
Council officers will also discuss proposals with the main trunk road operator to determine if existing motorway variable message signs could be considered to encourage vehicles to remain on the M9 and M90 and not use the A904.
The community council had also suggested building a pavement fully along the village street to incorporate the access and exit to the Jet garage.
Mr Brown said in his report: "Officers have briefly investigated this request and are of the view that the introduction of a new footway adjacent to the A904 would benefit the community and remove the existing pedestrian and vehicle conflict across the garage forecourt.
"This request has been placed on the council’s infrastructure request list for further consideration when future funding is made available."
David Armstrong from the community council thanked Mr Brown and his team for the time and effort put into developing the trial .
Executive councillor for the environment and chair of the Linlithgow local area committee Tom Conn said: “The A904 route which runs through Newton will have temporary traffic management measures including temporary signage. "The trial scheme will determine if the number of vehicles, particularly heavy goods vehicles, reduces.”
Should the results be considered successful and a decision is taken to make them permanent, then funding would be required in future.
