A PLAN to install traffic calming bollards styled like giant coloured pencils by Kingsland Primary School has moved forward.

Peebles Community Council (PCC) member Heather Young told its virtual meeting this month that Scottish Borders Council’s (SBC) team leader for traffic and road safety management, Philippa Gilhooly, has provided three options for traffic calming bollards on the A72 Glasgow Road.

PCC member Scott Rae said: “A dense set of pencil bollards is going to calm the traffic as well as the speed limits.”

Mr Rae added that it was a valid option because rumble strips and speed humps can’t be installed.

“I know some people were worried about it being the gateway to the town but yes they have built a school and I think the school takes precedence.”

Ms Young said that Ms Gilhooly had asked for the opinion of Kingsland’s Parent Council and PCC.

“If we can come to agreement SBC will install these measures over the holidays, which would be fab because they would be in place for the next term,” added Ms Young. “The Parent Council has approved the proposals as has the school.

“Philippa recommended option three, basically the only difference between them is the spacing of the bollards, four metres, eight metres or 12 metres.

“The question mark is: “Are you happy to go ahead with these measures, secondly do we want option one, two or three and thirdly are you happy with coloured pencil bollards?”

PCC chairman Les Turnbull said: “I don’t think there would be much doubt that we are happy for SBC to go ahead.

“The only query I had was in option three the bollards were to be 4m apart and now they have moved to 12m apart.

“I don’t know whether it makes a significant difference.

“Perhaps every 4m might be a little overcrowded and make it look a bit too fussy.”

He added that 4m might be good because it almost acts as a fence.

Ms Young said she could go back to the parent council and say that PCC was happy with 4m and if was 8m or 12m we would not be upset about that either.

Mr Turnbull said that he’d seen a question about the colour of the bollards in one of the emails.

“Again, it is as Scott says the gateway to the town,” said Mr Turnbull. “Does anybody have a view on colours?”

Mr Rae said that red and white would be good.

PCC member Jenny Mitchell added: “Anything that can kind of draw attention to fact that there are children.

“Red and white gets them to be Beltane colours for us.”