YOUR VIEWS: 'Improvement' plan for Academy Street in Inverness criticised and doubts over public spending priorities
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Time to stop pursuing Academy Street ‘improvements’?
In 2020, I started a petition asking Highland Council to unblock the roads and remove the “spaces for people” barriers.
We eventually saw agreement to reopen the Castle Street area, and the Eastgate barriers were scaled back.
On Academy Street, councillors decided to ask planners to propose a better scheme and they took that as permission to leave the barriers in place and dream up more ways to limit traffic.
The council has, since then, narrowly agreed to proceed with developing a project that would see private cars prevented from traversing the city centre via Academy Street. I complained that council officers lied in support of their project and have a complaint outstanding with the Public Sector Ombudsman. Inverness BID has complained that the council has not consulted properly. The Eastgate Shopping Centre has raised a case for Judicial Review and yet still Highland Council wants to proceed.
I have created a new petition calling on Highland Council to stop spending time and money developing the damaging proposals. Businesses say it would damage trade, residents of Crown and other areas say it would spread traffic to their local streets, and carers say accessing clients would take longer as they use Academy Street to get across town.
If you would like to sign the petition please go to https://www.change.org/AcademyStreetPetition and sign the new petition.
Donald M MacKenzie
Crown Drive
Inverness
Focus correct on current spending priorities?
I cannot be alone in thinking that spending priorities seem bizarrely off colour in Inverness right now.
No rebuilding of hospitals or schools – yes to a redesign of Academy Street, with all the fall-out from a seemingly badly handled consultation that’s left city business reeling.
Bus funding is only temporary too – so what are the long-term implications for reducing car traffic in our city?
Additionally we have quickly expanding Inverness with many new housing development projects, yet not backed up by infrastructure.
Meanwhile towns and villages in the north (Ross-shire, Sutherland and Caithness) face imminent depopulation.
Am I too bleak in my outlook and assessment of the current situation?
Name and address supplied
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