Hundreds complain about 'outrageous' Swallow Roundabout delays as councillor takes case to transport secretary

The Courier

24-04-2025

Hundreds of people have complained about 'outrageous' delays at the Swallow Roundabout in Dundee after traffic lights were installed.
Developer Springfield made changes to the junction near Invergowrie as part of efforts to ease potential congestion caused by the construction of new homes at Dykes of Gray.
However, drivers have faced long delays on the A90 Dundee-bound approach to the roundabout since they were switched on in early March.
Some drivers claim their commute time has doubled since the lights were installed.
One motorist travelling from Perth to Dundee on Wednesday told The Courier: 'Even by Swallow Roundabout standards, today's traffic is outrageous.'
There were further queues as far as Longforgan on Thursday.
Now, Carse of Gowrie councillor Angus Forbes says he is taking the issue to the transport secretary because he has been contacted by so many people about the lights.
Mr Forbes has launched a questionnaire asking people for their experiences.
The councillor has already received about 1,000 responses detailing people's complaints about the roundabout.
The survey closes at 5pm on Friday and the details will be sent to transport secretary Fiona Hyslop.
Mr Forbes told The Courier: 'I am so frustrated by the traffic caused by the roundabout and the volume of complaints that I don't feel I have any other option than to get the Scottish Government involved.
'My constituents are coming to me looking for a solution but I can't even give them an explanation, never mind a solution, and as a councillor, that's not a good place to be.
'My big fear was that there would be carnage while the construction took place but that was handled very well by Springfield.
'It never occurred to me that the issues would be so great after the lights were switched on.'
Drivers shared their experiences in response to Mr Forbes' post.
One said: 'The lights have caused more issues and delays than there ever (were before).
'The lanes aren't clear enough, too, and this causes more delays with people being in the wrong lanes on approach to the roundabout from Perth.'
Another driver wrote: 'It's awful. Doubled my commute time.'
One motorist posted the queues were an 'absolute joke'.
Another said: '(It's) crazy sitting behind red lights with no traffic in front of you or coming round from the right and you can't go because lights are red.
'There are times I counted when 20-50 vehicles could get through if there were no lights.'
Springfield insists it was asked to install the lights by Dundee City Council.
A spokesperson for the developer said: 'As housebuilders building new homes in the area, Swallow Roundabout improvements were included as part of our planning consent.
'We commissioned third-party specialists to design improvements to meet Transport Scotland regulations.
'This was thoroughly reviewed and approved by the relevant authorities, including Transport Scotland, ahead of construction starting and changes to the approved design need to be requested by them.
'The inclusion of traffic lights at this busy junction was specifically requested by Dundee City Council to provide steady and safer movement from each road leading to the roundabout and to introduce safe pedestrian crossings.'
The Courier has approached the council for comment.
However, in 2014, then-director of city development Mike Galloway said the signalisation of the roundabout would 'provide additional capacity to accommodate the extra vehicles associated with the residential developments'.
Transport Scotland says it will respond to Mr Forbes when it receives his letter to the transport secretary.