Fund for road safety in Inverness runs dry
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PARENTS making a desperate call for roads safety improvements are furious this week after Highland Council confirmed the area’s roads budget has run completely dry.
The admission comes days after residents in Kinmylies sat down with senior council officials at Charleston Community Complex and warned youngsters in the area were risking their lives crossing Leachkin Road to get to Kinmylies and Muirtown Primary Schools and Charleston Academy.
Officers went away to look at the budget and have now come back saying “sorry, the cupboard is bare”.
But furious parents have vowed to campaign on.
“It’s not good enough to say there’s no money,” said resident Emma Blain.
“These officers promised they would go away with our concerns and think about solutions to make this road safer, and our ward councillors said they could try to find money to make it happen. So we’re still expecting those officers to say what solutions there are.”
Fellow resident Laura Cowie said it all came down to “how much the council values the life of a child”.
The frustration follows a press statement this week from the council which said the Inverness area roads office “currently has no budget for traffic-calming works”.
When pressed by the Courier to confirm road safety solutions were still being drawn up regardless, the council said this was not possible because “all relevant staff were are on leave”.
The council statement added that smiley speed signs would be in place in due course.
It said the intention is to collect traffic numbers and speeds for this section of road “when the appropriate equipment is available.”
SNP ward member Bill Boyd said clearly there is a road safety issue and he is going to find out who is responsible for providing funds to instigate the safety measures.
