YOUR VIEWS: New safety addition to Carrbridge’s main street has created danger
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I write with the strongest complaint regarding the recent build of the widened pavement and traffic management scheme on the main road in Carrbridge.
This type of measure is as I understand referred to as a ‘Build Out.’
Within one week I have witnessed water puddling on new surfaces, chaotic traffic movements, a near miss and the remains of a vehicle collision with one of the bollards.
The development would appear to fail on all levels when considering national road safety objectives and local good practice. Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 has Safe Roads and Roadsides as one of the five key objectives. In my opinion this development fails that objective.
Furthermore, the frameworks states (Works): “They are self-explanatory in their design encourages safe and sustainable travel so that they are predictable and forgiving to errors.”
From observations during the first 10 days the development falls far short of safe, predictability and forgiving to both road users and pedestrians.
Location: The build seems to ignore the requirements of direct access to the road required by eight separate households and that of residents in Strathspey Lane and Hilditch Terrace. Did the authorities consult with any immediate resident?
Water flooding: Water gathers on the road surface half-way along the pavement section. Levels are not correct - a basic engineering requirement.
The water will pool and splash pedestrians and freeze in the winter causing danger to passing traffic.
Length of scheme: Observing traffic movements is chaotic. The give way lines through to the unmarked waiting zone at the other end of the development is so long that traffic movements do not comply with the intended signage protocols. Observations show north bound traffic moving through the development and southbound traffic left waiting, this under a priority southbound sign. I have observed six northbound cars travel through the scheme causing three southbound vehicles to wait (southbound having priority). This resulted in horns being blared at the advancing northbound cars.
Signage: Signage is totally inadequate for oncoming traffic. The south bound sign is hidden by trees.
The bollards are black and hard to see. This does not comply with best practice across traffic guidance sources across Scottish and UK governments.
Road hatchings: Good practice recommends road hatchings to provide addition guidance for road users approaching build outs. There are no hatchings on either approach direction.
Speeding: To date there remains many vehicles traveling at excessive speeds of what appears to be 30mph-plus through the narrow road section.
Consultation: There appears to have been no consultation with residents.
Our household received a letter from Compass (dated 10th April) on 14th April regarding the building of flats. Within that letter a paragraph stated that the company would be undertaking road works. The very next day, the 15th, traffic lights were installed and the day after the diggers moved in.
On no occasion were we or our neighbours consulted on the design, build or ambitions of the build.
There is no sign of any notice of the works across the Highland Council websites. Is it is published?
Did the council consult with the emergency services including Carrbridge Volunteer Fire Service?
I implore Highland Council to attend the site and undertake extensive observations of traffic and pedestrian movements.
This along with the introduction of consultation with affected residents and road users will hopefully allow for amendments and a safer environment for us all.
Alan Rankin
Carrbridge.
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Who’s obsessed? I think we all know…
I recently received the third pre-election leaflet from Kathleen Robertson, the Tory candidate for Moray, Nairn, and Strathspey.
Ms Robertson claims that the SNP have an 'independence obsession`, yet over 75 per cent of her four pages is taken up with the need to beat them, rather than setting out Tory policies.
This obviously prompts the question as to who exactly has the obsession!
And Ms Robertson still fails to tell us what she will strive to do in relation to poverty or the climate crisis - probably the two biggest challenges facing us at the moment.
Instead, she offers pledges, several of which relate to devolved matters although she is standing for Westminster.
Jim MacEwan
Nethy Bridge.
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‘Beg for forgiveness for retrospective plans and they will be grant’
After reviewing the recent Strathy article titled ‘Cairngorms park planning committee members furious over unplanned tarmac road’ and Mr Gordon Bulloch’s reply in Letters to the Editor, we are appalled by both the surprise of the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s planning committee with regards to this application and the position of councillor Bill Lobban who also sits on Highland Council’s South Planning Committee.
It is common knowledge in our village and throughout the Highlands that is is better to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission.
There are a plethora of retrospective caravan parks and illegal works recently built and approved in the Cairngorms National Park.
The quick and seamless approvals of retrospective commercial developments have set a blaring precedent to ensure that planning permission is no longer needed in the national park and Highland Council region.
Contrary to the article this is not the “biggest breach seen”.
Don’t take my word for it, all you have to do is visit the Highland Council’s planning portal and type in “retrospective” application to see there are more than 1615 current or decided retrospective applications under consideration.
We were unable to find an application that was refused. Similarly on the CNPA site, we found that in the last few meetings there were over 10 retrospective applications all approved.
Councillor Bill Lobban himself a year ago spearheaded the approval of a large retrospective commercial development in Laggan containing not only a caravan park but roads, a large livery, fencing, septics, 24 hour lighting and and much more in a small residential area on the Spey within the national park.
This development has destroyed the area. Yet, Mr Lobban is now stating that “I think it is absolutely disgraceful” and we need to do something about this. Why the 180 degree change of heart?
The real problem besides the obvious above is simply put as follows. The CNPA and Highland Council do not pursue enforcement of retrospective building as they are afraid of the overwhelming cost of removing these large damaging developments.
You can see this in Mr Cosgrove’s question about cost. They instead “encourage” retrospective planning and hope that the public outcry doesn’t cause unbearable backlash.
In any other national park around the world this type of unchecked commercial development would be immediately and legally challenged and removed.
Until the incompetence clearly and concisely evident in the CNPA is dealt we should refrain from using the term “national park” as it is contrary to reality.
Jason Berry
Balgowan House
Laggan.
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Say no to new turbines
THE STRATHY (16th May) is completely right in calling for a moratorium on new "windfarms," a misnomer if ever there were one, since they destroy vast areas of agricultural land.
Wind turbines' additional, notorious faults are legion. Perhaps it's mainly their electricity output's unpredictability, their subsidy dependency, enormous and continuing costs, avian wildlife killing and harm to human health.
Taking account of their foreign manufacturing, transport, installation and disposal, they are products as "non-green" as anything short of military hardware.
Many of our politicians seem to have been initially duped. They now unashamedly lie to us, convincing the gullible with "the wind is free, save the planet" and the like.
There are comparable problems with battery electric vehicles, such as range unreliability, costs, subsidy dependence and only purported green-ness.
The real beneficiaries are all the passengers on the hugely lucrative climate gravy train, local landowners and foreign manufacturers.
Corruption surely abounds with such vast public funds to bid for.
These days, I would vote only for any politician declaring “enough is enough - let's call the whole, essentially wasteful and fraudulent, thing off”!
Charles Wardrop
Perth.
