Serious safety concerns have been raised about drivers regularly hurtling down a “dangerous” road outside Kilbarchan Cemetery.

A call for action has been issued over speeding traffic at this part of Bridge of Weir Road – despite a 30mph limit being in place at the location.

Alan Beattie submitted a petition to Renfrewshire Council after a near miss in August when, upon leaving the cemetery, he tried to access the road and another vehicle nearly collided with him.

Speaking this week, he said: “When you are visiting a loved one in the cemetery the last thing you want to be worried about is your safety.

“The road out of Kilbarchan Cemetery is dangerous with traffic constantly speeding coming from Bridge of Weir.

“I believe that if you extend the 30mph zone facing Bridge of Weir it would give drivers more time to slow down and make exiting the cemetery all the safer.”

Mr Beattie’s plea was heard at the petitions board earlier this month – at which council officer Mark Higginbotham suggested the installation of countdown signage and rumble stripping in advance of the start of the 30mph limit to encourage drivers to slow down.

Mr Higginbotham said at the meeting: “It seems to work reasonably well and I think that could probably be the best answer.

“We’re prepared to put those in but there’s a little bit of a wait until we’ve cleared some of the more high priority sites.”

It was also agreed by councillors the subject should be referred to the relevant director or policy board for further investigation.

Mr Beattie thanked the petitions board for hearing him out but warned: “I do believe that a serious accident is going to occur if we do not take the action that my petition requests.”

Councillor Robert Innes, a member of the board, said: “I was really pleased to see Mr Beattie take this action with his petition.

“I have been calling for safety improvements on this road at the Kilbarchan Cemetery since becoming a councillor and I welcome the suggestions from Mr Beattie to move the 30mph zone back.

“Road improvements and speed limit signs have been implemented in Brookfield recently and I feel that if we made this move at the cemetery it would make the entire area so much safer for everyone.

“Like Mr Beattie, I have family in the cemetery and have experienced the issues he has raised in exiting the area.

“It is a serious accident waiting to happen and the sooner this work can be done the better.”