‘Getting out of hand’: Concerns raised after crashes at Paisley

Part of Hamilton Court at Calside was destroyed during a shocking incident with a McGill’s bus on Wednesday afternoon.

Peter Campbell, who lives in the flats with his wife, said: “We’ve been here 14 years and yesterday [Wednesday] was the sixth time this has happened.

“A couple of years ago a car crashed right through the fence, went over the grass and right into the laundrette. The laundrette was completely demolished.

“There have been a lot more incidents, but they’ve not done a great deal of damage.

"It’s been mainly the grass and the fence that’s been affected. There’s been a couple of small dunts into the building.”

Peter Campbell. Image: Anthony Flett (Image: Newsquest)In one crash, Peter, 74, said a cable protector had been broken which has never been fixed, and in another, a vent for the tumble dryers was damaged.

Two serious incidents include the bus crash earlier this week – in which several people, including the driver, had to be rescued.

Five people were rushed to hospital.

And on August 19, 2022, a navy-blue Audi, which ended up embedded into the building, had to be pulled out after a crash around 11pm the night before. This is the incident that destroyed the laundrette.

At the time, a 26-year-old man was charged with road traffic offences after being taken to hospital along with another man.

Following that incident, Peter said his flat was “stinking of gas” because the car fractured a gas main.

The retired mechanic revealed he has been appealing for bollards to be installed on the pavement outside the flats.

“We’ve been trying for a few years,” he said. “But the last time the council said no one had been killed or injured.

“I spoke to the police traffic commander [on Wednesday] and he was going back to speak to the person in charge of the traffic division to see what they can get done, and I said, ‘try your best’.”

Peter highlighted how nearby Craw Road is “used as a racetrack”.

“There are drivers speeding on it constantly. It’s not just during the night, it’s 24 hours a day. There needs to be a deterrent,” he said.

Speaking about the recent bus crash, Peter added: “If there were bollards on the pavement, it could have still been bad, but they might have been a block in some way and slowed the bus down a bit.

“This is a main ambulance route so they can't put speed bumps on the road, but we even thought about asking for traffic lights to get put up at the junction [Calside/Craw Road].

“I don’t know what to ask for now, we’ll need to wait and see.”

Eddie Devine, Councillor for Paisley Southeast, is fully supporting Hamilton Court residents and tenants in their calls for something to be done to help prevent any more accidents.

He said: “That particular junction is getting to be a danger for anybody using it.

“It’s a busy road and a busy area. Something has to be done to slow the vehicles coming along Craw Road.

“It is quite difficult, I get that, with it being beside the hospital, but it’s getting out of hand. This is two serious accidents in a few years now."

Speaking about the number of crashes in general, the councillor added: “There’s been quite a few. A lot of times I’ve been in the area and part of the fence is missing.

“The fence has probably stopped a lot of vehicles from going into the building.”

Damage caused by the bus crash on Wednesday (Image: Newsquest)A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “Road safety is of paramount importance and, as is the case with all road traffic accidents, once we have reviewed the police report into the incident at Hamilton Court, we will carry out safety inspections at the location to determine if any additional safety measures are required.

“We take resident concerns seriously and our team is available to respond to any questions or concerns residents may have.

“We continually monitor all roads in Renfrewshire to ensure they are safe and work with the local community and our partners to investigate any necessary safety measures.”