A WORRIED councillor has called for action over an “unsafe” zebra crossing on a busy Johnstone road.

The crossing on Beith Road, near the junction with Rannoch Road, was put in place as part of the controversial Howwood to Paisley cycle lane.

With the lane now set to be removed following uproar from the community, Councillor John Hood insists something must be done about the crossing.

He said that, as it sits just over the brow of a hill, coming from Johnstone High School and towards Rannoch Road, drivers are struggling to see the crossing – or anyone approaching it – in enough time to stop.

Councillor Hood wants roads chiefs at Renfrewshire Council to consider putting an island in the middle of the crossing – which used to be there – to give pedestrians a place to stop so they can get to the other side more safely.

He said: “This all started with the cycle lane really. They took the islands away and put a zebra crossing in just below the brow of the hill and you can’t see it when you’re approaching from the high school side.

“There’s been people killed along this section of road. We need to make it safer.

“What I would like to see is all the remedial work done as soon as they take the lane away but then I would like to see an island put down in the middle of the crossing to make people feel safer.

“They did not do enough consultation on the cycle lane and I think this crossing has also been badly thought out.

“Instead of making the road safer, it’s had the opposite effect entirely.”

Elected members unanimously agreed to remove the temporary cycleway on Beith Road and examine alternative plans for active travel in the area at a full council meeting earlier this month.

The decision to scrap the lane was made after a petition against it attracted 1,500 signatures.

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said an assessment of the zebra crossing was being carried out as part of a site visit to Beith Road.