The council cabinet last week decided to back officers' recommendations to ban right turns from Dalkeith's London Road into Lothian Street and from Buccleuch Street into Lothian Road.

During the past five years there have been eight crashes at the crossroads.

Two resulted in serious injury and the others caused slight injuries. One of those involved a pedestrian.

Council officials felt traffic signals banning right turns and allowing pedestrian crossing would provide the safest solution to the problem.

Congestion

However, an objection was received from one Dalkeith resident warning that the changes would result in drivers using the nearby Waverley Road and Park Road as 'rat runs' and an increase in carbon emissions.

Lauchlin D Maclean also said the changes would cause congestion problems.

In a letter to the council he said: "I agree that traffic lights are necessary, however it must be possible to phase them in such a way that filters can be installed, to allow right turns and still allow a pedestrian phase such as already happens at High Street, Buccleuch Street, Eskbank Road, Edinburgh Road."

But council officials insist the narrowness of the junction would mean that right-turn bans would minimise the congestion in the area.

Scepticism

A council spokesman said: "For the junction to run efficiently, the northbound traffic phase – London Road – and the southbound traffic phase – Buccleuch Street – would have to run together.

"It is likely that a right turning vehicle would block the southbound flow due to the northbound traffic in the opposing queue."

At the meeting Councillor Russell Imrie was among those who expressed scepticism over the proposals.

He said: "I just wonder if, by introducing this we are introducing people to rat running."

Suck it and see

Councillor Jackie Aitchison voiced similar fears and said: "The whole of Dalkeith needs to be reviewed in terms of traffic movement."

Cabinet chairman, Derek Milligan, said: "I'm not certain 100 per cent that this is going to work; it could cause rat running.

"I think it's a 'suck it and see' situation. I hear the concerns we have got but we should go along with the professional opinion and see what happens."