A CAMPAIGNING councillor has written to the Scottish Government to call for speed cameras on a notorious Renfrewshire road.

Councillor Andy Doig, who represents Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch, believes lives will be at risk on the A737 unless improved safety measures are introduced.

He has highlighted the Howwood junction, where there was a fatal accident around a month ago, as a particular concern in a letter to Transport Secretary Michael Matheson.

Mr Doig, who is an Independent councillor, outlined how a village road joins fast-flowing traffic at this junction, adding that the section between Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch is the only part of the A737 which is single carriageway.

He met with Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce at the start of the summer and was told representatives had met with previous Transport Secretary Humza Yousaf and were told a report on the A737 was imminent.

Now Mr Doig has demanded this report be published urgently and has called for speed cameras to be installed in the interim.

He said: “We need that report and we need it now, as my constituents are sick of the A737 being a death-trap, particularly around the Howwood junction.

“In light of the fatality recently, we must install speed cameras pending the publication of the report, as we can see the difference on driver behaviour this has had on other road blackspots such as the A9.”

Mr Doig, who is convener of Renfrewshire’s all-party A737 partnership group, has invited Mr Matheson to visit Howwood and meet with councillors and residents to see the dangers of the road for himself.

Average speed cameras were installed on the A9 four years ago and figures show that, since then, deaths between Dunblane and Inverness have almost halved.

Mr Doig hopes cameras can have a similar effect on the A737.

He added: “A death-trap which goes from dual to single carriageway and was built in the 1990s is no longer fit for purpose in 2018.

“Sadly, Transport Scotland say the A737 does not have enough fatalities to get speed cameras. This is a shocking and cavalier approach to human life.

“I demand they install cameras now, as there have been plenty of near fatalities over the years.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said it recognises the importance of the A737 route and has responded to Mr Doig’s concerns.

He added: “Road safety is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government and we assess the safety performance of the trunk road network on an annual basis, including the A737.

“A package of road safety improvement measures were implemented earlier this year at the Howwood junction, with works ongoing to replace the street lighting with LED lighting on new passively-safe columns.

“Investigations are also underway at the Newton of Belltrees junction, with safety measures programmed for early in 2019.”