John Mackie stated that there had been a “drastic lack of consultation” concerning recent events on the suburban patch of the A96, he went on to say, “ I don’t know where the traffic lights at Moss-side Road come from but it is going to create a bigger problem than is already being experienced for motorists. I’ve had several phone calls about the tailbacks and what is going to happen when the traffic lights are there all the time. I don’t know who they consulted, I don’t know if Highland Council was consulted. The first and only thing I knew about it was when I read it in the Nairnshire.” John went on to say that the junction of the A96 with Manse Road and Waverley Road had been mentioned at the Sainsbury’s public inquiry yet there were no lights being installed there.
Liz (who was present along with her colleagues Graham and Laurie) stated that Transport Scotland had stipulated four sets of lights along with the conditions imposed on the development of Sainsbury’s. She had sought advice from the Council’s TECS department who had told her that the lights would not be put out of sync as they would recalculate every time the pedestrian crossings were used. She added, “I don’t know how successful that is going to be.” She outlined the four spots where the lights were going in – the details of the lights are still coming as a revelation to many Nairn residents and this observer was surprised that some at the meeting tonight still had no real idea of where the lights and the associated pedestrian crossings were going.
Laurie said they it had all been delegated and he had been told, “You want a supermarket, that’s it, that is what comes with it!”
Someone asked what the rationale for the sets of lights had been and Graham intervened with a response: “They say in order to ensure the safety of people entering and leaving the A96 and pedestrians, that you need that number of traffic lights.”
The discussion ebbed and flowed around various levels of incredulity and trepidation of what Nairn and anyone attempting to drive through the town will have to endure. Alistair Noble contributed too, he said:
“This is illustrating the absolute nonsense and the complete breakdown of trust between Nairn people and the planners, whoever they are…We have consistently said that making Nairn bigger and making Nairn more congested is going to cause chaos and the idea that you take 6,7 or 8 sets of traffic lights – when I came to Nairn first I used to laugh when I used to go down to wherever it was and go through some of the places in England that were being built up and being by-passed by motorways and said I’d hate to be a GP there. It’s going to be hell to be a GP trying to get from one side of Nairn to the other side of Nairn. The ambulances, everything will come to a halt.”
There we have it Gurnites, traffic light madness is coming whether we like it or not. Time for a few more folk to get the pushbikes out of the shed this summer and whiz pass the queues of waiting traffic?
you dont even need a bike to whizz past the traffic. I did it yesterday just walking!!!
ReplyDeleteIf the new pedestrian crossings stay at red for as long as the one outside Jock-the-Jerry's, then the place will grind to a halt. Pedestrians could come from Fishertown cross on the lights, go up to the butchers, visit the post office, have a coffe and a blether with their mates and return to the crossing before it changes back.
ReplyDeleteGoodness knows why.
Don't see an issue with the lights at Grantown Road and Moss Side Road as long as they're properly synchronised, but why Albert St and Seabank Road ? Surely the worst junction is Waverley / Manse ? Will be cycling to work from now on !
ReplyDeleteAnything that makes crossing the A96 in Nairn a little less like taking your life in your hands has got to be welcome.
ReplyDeleteI have no sympathy for anyone who wanted an out of town supermarket but who plans to fume about the traffic.
I was on the verge (pardon the pun) of writing to Transport Scotland asking when Nairn would get another pedestrian crossing as there aren't any west of Leopold St and it can be nightmare trying to cross, especially if you have a bairn in a buggy.
Got off the bus from Inverness today (wed) at 3.00pm. I alighted at Mosside Road as the bus driver said I would be quicker walking. By the time I got to Duncan Drive the bus was still in Mosside Road and the traffic in both directions was queued up as far as the eye could see. What a complete and total shambles this is. Nairn must be completely gridlocked. God knows what it will be like once all the traffic lights are working.Nairn will be avoided like the plague and Stagecoach will withdraw all services..
ReplyDeleteThey say it was Abraham Lincoln who said -
ReplyDelete"You can please most of the people some of the time, some of the people most of the time, but none of the people all of the time".
I say hoorah for new signal controlled crossings on the A96 - long overdue for the young schoolchildren and the elderly of Nairn.
Sadly we all have to put up with DISRUPTION during the roadworks. I believe the permanent traffic signals will have 'loops' in the road that will enable vehicle activation to suit the traffic conditions. Why not ask the mannie at Transport Scotland.