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 Radiator Springs is the name of a fictional town in the animated Disney/Pixar film Cars. The rural desert town is located in the fictional Carburetor County on U.S. Route 66, not far from Interstate 40 In The State of California. Founded by the late Stanley, Radiator Springs was once a bustling community that thrived on the tourism of passing motorists traveling across the country. Once I-40 was built, the tourists stopped traveling through Radiator Springs and the town fell into disrepair.
A run down town forgotten by the rest of the county.Does this sound familiar?  Well maybe clutching at straws here to make this story topical , however despite Linwood being so near to Glasgow airport & the Phoenix retail park it does also seem to be off the beaten track just like Radiator Springs. We also have our own cool car connection.The Hillman Imp was no Lightning McQueen but it was a very popular car and continues to retain a certain cult status. 
Our local "Route 66's" bypassing our own little Radiator Springs are the M8 of course and the Irvine bypass linking Ayrshire. The Phoenix retail park with Asda,McDonalds,Burger King,other fast food outlets,various car dealers,DIY centre & more is a fantastic resource however Linwood seems to have lost the claim to anything on this site. During the highs & lows of the car plant in its various guises of Rootes,Chrysler & Talbot over the years there was never any doubt that it was the Linwood car plant. The Scottish brothers "The Proclaimers even sang "Linwood no more" in their song "Letter from America" released sometime after the final closure of the car plant. Sadly with no formal connection to the Phoenix retail outlet Linwood does not currently have much to offer visitors to the town itself other than the excellent local sports centre. Even so it is very disheartening when you arrive at the main Linwood road roundabout after exiting the M8 and notice that unlike most towns & villages in the area there are no "WELCOME TO"signs. We should have a sign welcoming visitors and making a big deal of at least the sports centre,offering directions to the not so easy to find sports venue. There should be brown background tourist type sign at the exit of roundabout.LEFT--> Phoenix, RIGHT--> LINWOOD TOWN CENTRE/SPORTS CENTRE.Next there should be another sign at the slip road opposite public park again directing visitors to LINWOOD & the SPORTS CENTRE. Visitors who make it as far as Mont Royale (Golden Pheasant) are now faced with a ROAD CLOSED sign ! This sign of course is for the MOSS ROAD and should be moved to the Clippens School(Mossedge). So this highlights the need for further signage at the Bridge street junction and at Clippens school turning into Brediland road.
Next thing that comes to mind of course is if we did have road signs encouraging visitors to Linwood as they move between the M8 & "The Phoenix" is the embarrassment imagining them driving through what is really becoming a slum area. Linwood road,which for reasons as yet unknown to me, changes to Kashmir avenue as it passes the "public park" on approach to the Shell petrol station & continues to the Clippens roundabout. More concerning to me than the un-neccessary loss of the name "Linwood Road" is that this road has been a scene of many accidents over the years and nothing has been done to prevent further accidents. There are housing areas, petrol station access, access to the almost derelict town centre shops & health centre,public park with football pitch,various access points to riverside walks & cycle track as well the currently useless kid's play park at Kintyre all on this road. A very immediate and simple contribution to road safety would be to decrease the speed limit from the current 40MPH. Yes it still remains an essential link for locals getting access to the M8 and the delights of the Phoenix,Paisley and other outlying areas but the stretch is so short between the two roundabouts that surely no one could object to a safer speed limit. A decrease in the speed limit should only be the first of many safety improvements. Pedestrian crossings for park & cycle track access also utilised for housing & shopping area Safety barriers on road near Kintyre park to discourage crossing from unsafe area on bend Road signs reminding drivers this is residential area with kids attempting to cross the road !
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