YOUR VIEWS: Is A9 dualling really the answer, Inverness housing growth and car park woes
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Readers on the issues that have been exercising them this week.
We need a safer A9, not more dualling
I am dismayed at the universal cry to dual the A9 in the name of safety and economic progress, when neither will be served by dualling.
Seeing the next scheduled Moy section will cost £150m and take three years is the final straw.
£150m could make the whole stretch from Perth to Caithness the safest road in Britian, but never by constructing another paltry six miles of dual carriageway.
The A9 south is now one of the safest and best built roads in the country.
I remember when it took three to four hours to get to Perth, but now, if no construction is under way, it reliably takes two hours.
The economic benefits of a fast road have been felt.
Spending £150m on the Moy section will reduce that time by one to two minutes. Based on previous experience the construction work will add 10 to 30 minutes per journey for three years. So it will be at least 15 years before our time spent travelling to Perth will have been reduced.
If the whole A9 was dualled, everybody alive today who travels regularly will spend more time doing so, not less, so if you accept the economic arguments for faster roads, the Highlands will be worse not better off for generations.
So why do it?
It must be to prevent those terrible accidents. When driving to Perth, I have only ever needed to use my brakes in earnest when another driver drives carelessly, usually breaking the law. And that happens every journey.
The average speed controls are not enforced, there are not enough traffic police and selfish driving that puts others at risk is rife.
Cameras, drones and police officers should operate a zero tolerance for drivers who break the law, especially speeding and driving dangerously.
It is easy to spot the likely accident causers, it just needs millions to be invested in policing the road properly. But not as much as £150m.
We need the A9 investment to create labour intensive high paid jobs to de-risk driving on the A9 and beyond. Indeed, if we remove those selfish drivers all our roads will be safer, bad driving is not unique to the A9.
Fewer accidents mean less pressure on Raigmore, fewer road closures and most importantly fewer lives ruined by injury and death on the roads.
We must adopt the same zero tolerance of unsafe driving as in the workplace. In industry you don’t reduce accidents by making unsafe practices less dangerous, you train everyone to work safely first.
Peter Young
North Kessock
Infrastructure needed along with houses
A recent letter writer to the Courier shared his view that new housing developments in Inverness should be paused unless or until budgets allow for all of the necessary support infrastructure to be supplied along with them.
“Definitely. Don’t have the infrastructure to cope with yet more house building. Too many houses and nothing else. We need a rest.” – Bonnie Sime
“This suggestion has arisen at planning committees. In reality it is quite complicated. It involves several agencies. Highland Council would have to refuse planning permission – and not sure that is an option legally open to them. So any appeal to Scottish Government official would have to fail. Money would have to made available for new schools. Right now that would impact on existing schools needing replacement or repair. We cannot insist that developers build schools etc. We would have to stop new jobs being created. This encourages people into the area who could not be housed. Health facilities are provided by NHS. Depends, again, on money being available. Shops etc are dependent on the market. All of this would need to be co-ordinated. Several government agencies working together? That would be novel.
“Pleading to Scottish Governments for special treatment to deal with this has happened in the past – but to no avail.
“And, of course, there is a housing shortage in this area. Homes are needed. Improvements to infrastructure in and around Inverness is needed whether we build houses or not.
“One thing I’ve learned in my short time on the council is that it’s ability to do anything substantial depends on money being made available to council from Scottish Government. This current year we got the same amount as last year – in real terms a cut and no money has been made for building new schools.
“Don’t disagree with the proposal. Just don’t see it as possible without change of heart from Scottish Government.” – (Councillor) Andrew Mackintosh
“Infrastructure in Scotland is about twenty years behind. Our Roads are actually unsafe and terribly out of date. The country is looking a bit rough to be fair.” – Mark Smith
“If you are one of the thousands of people desperately needing a home of your own or somewhere to live then I don’t think you’ll be worrying too much about more houses being built. Mark Smith, our over reliance on the motor car is what’s terribly out of date.” – Alan Roberts
“That bird has already flown and it’s not just housing. Inverness has for years had far too many areas where development of many kinds has been allowed to outstrip infrastructure. For instance the short stretch from the Fluke to Simpsons has got a major hospital, a substantial retail park and far too many other things to list. They also keep piling stuff on the SDR and, in the case of housing, the West Link is filling up rapidly.
“Industrial and commercial development in the Longman beggars belief – for an area where one of the principal means of access and egress comprises an awkwardly angled railway bridge, a frequently closed level crossing and a major roundabout all within less than 100 yards (and which will now also carry even more traffic previously carried by Academy Street.) It’s so far gone that I just can’t see a solution any more and shutting Academy Street is simply a case of the council shooting the people of Inverness in the foot.” – Charles Bannerman
Letters should be submitted to newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk. Please include your address and a daytime contact number. You can also tweet us: @InvCourier or leave a comment on Facebook @invernesscourier
