YOUR VIEWS: Academy Street and gritting concerns
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Readers share their views on city travel and transport and Highland Council's gritting operation.
End nightmare of unsafe routes for city cyclists
The sooner we see improvements to the cycle lanes in Millburn Road, the better.
At the moment, it would be nicer to cycle the cobbles of Coronation Street and just this week I hit the deck after trying to dodge a pothole outside the Chieftain Hotel. Luckily my bike was fine but my back was bruised and my panier bag hook snapped so it was a costly mishap. Of course, it could happen anywhere at any time in winter when it’s icy but the added hazards that come with the horrendous surface cyclists are having to put up with don’t do us any favours.
The new active travel link between Inverness Campus and Raigmore Interchange can’t be praised highly enough and avoids a really steep decline and ascent connecting Raigmore estate and Millburn Road, as existed previously but the section to the city centre is awful.
During Covid one of the road lanes was dedicated to cyclists and that was fine, let’s go back to that. If motorists don’t like it, they can hop on a bike or a bus.
I know I sound like a grumpy cyclist but we have much to be grumpy about. There is no tolerance for us – especially on so-called shared paths like the one along Millburn Road.
School kids, dog walkers, joggers and generally any pedestrian with headphones is a danger because they are not alert to cyclists and their wee bells...then there are other cyclists who often seem to think they are competing in the Tour De France – regardless of the terrain. It’s generally a nightmare and I’d like to see all our city councillors – or at least a handful – cycle the route so they have the “lived experience” everyone seems to value so highly these days. This would be better than them just going on feedback of non-cyclist pals, motorists or their gut feeling – AKA ego.
Come on Ian Brown, Glynis Sinclair and co... you could even use one of your electric bikes so you don’t have to break a sweat – just try not to fall off or you might break something else.
Terry Ayres
Inverness
Infrastructure is not fit for today’s travellers
I have just been reading the report in your esteemed journal about the imminent opening of the revamped Dalcross Railway Station, now Inverness Airport Station, at a (would “preposterous” be the right word?) sum of £42 million.
Fine, but will it work ?
Here we are in 21st- century Scotland where three of its main airports have the railway on one side and the terminals on the other. I mean, have you recently transferred from Dyce Railway Station to Aberdeen Airport terminal? Or at Edinburgh where you have to take an expensive tram ride from Parkway Station? Of course, Glasgow doesn’t even have a railway connection.
So, will our new remote Inverness Airport Station generate the kind of traffic to support this grandiose investment? Well , once you get off the train (nice lifts, by the way!) you’re not there yet, and you still have a further trek to the terminal. And by what means?
Well, all I can say is that this is yet another example of near-sighted planning by the UK (before devolution ) and by the Scottish Government since, which allowed the Airports Authority to develop their infrastructure remotely from the existing public transport, namely the railway.
So much for integrated planning and joined-up-thinking by a country which used to be famous for its good common sense and an appreciation of cause and effect.
And while we are on this subject, what are we to make of the 19th- century arrangement at the roundabout at the junction of Millburn Road and Harbour Road? A properly developed country would have revamped this traffic horror decades ago with a proper flyover.
Today, you now expect to be held up at the pedestrian crossing, then at the roundabout, then at the level crossing before you manage to squeeze through the ancient railway bridge (no pavements, by the way) to get into our main commercial district.
Laughable, I call it.
And by the time Academy Street is “sorted “ the new traffic flow will only be a further turn for the worse. Shameful in this day and age!
And as for the continuing use by ScotRail of 1990s rolling stock throughout the Highlands... Well, I feel another letter coming on!
Arthur Millwood
West Heather Road
Inverness
Grit won’t work in too cold temperatures
As winter really bit this week Highland Council issued a plea for people to be extra careful when out and about – as temperatures were so low that grit was unable to work. It requires a certain amount of free moisture and does not work in temperatures below minus five degrees.
“What a load of nonsense, strangely the salt I bought from my local bargain basement store did the trick on my driveway in minus six conditions. Cutbacks, cutbacks and more cutbacks more like. PS I ain’t seen a gritter down our street in at least two years.” – Brian Macpherson
“Did a good job gritting Raigmore Estate this morning.” – Reggie Royce
“Yet to see a single gritter but the roads are slippery as an ice rink... maybe instead of issuing warnings take action, prevention is better than cure.” – Allan Thomas Woodward
“My husband has been out all weekend, starting work at 6am until 5pm gritting the roads. I agree some roads and paths are bad, but if it’s as cold as yesterday the grit will not be effective. Believe me, they are all out.” – Lisa MacDonald
“'Council urges everyone to take extra care due to conditions’. See also – everyone urges council to pull its finger out gritting paths and roads.” – Andrew Gleneski
“Council asking everyone to do their jobs for them.” – Jenny Anderson
Letters should be emailed to newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk. Please include your address and a daytime telephone number. You can also tweet us @InvCourier or leave a comment on Facebook @invernesscourier
