Tommy Hogg: "“Although Nairn South is done and dusted apparently, I still think that Station Brae is a disaster.”

The ongoing ordeal for pedestrians and motorists that is the Station Brae traffic situation exercised minds once again as Community Councillor Leslie Boulton told his River CC colleagues last night at the regular meeting in the URC hall that last Friday morning there were sixteen cars waiting to get under the railway bridge heading into town on the Cawdor Road, two at the first stop and another 14 queued all the way back up to the football ground at the other. 

Chair Tommy Hogg said: “Although Nairn South is done and dusted apparently, I still think that Station Brae is a disaster.”

Murd Dunbar said: “somebody is going to get really hurt there and there is no need for it.” 

There was further discussion of the road layout on Station Brae and then Liz MacDonald said:

“I remember before the measures were put in at Station Brae and they have been adapted slightly for the cyclist thing. The problem was not the traffic, it was pedestrians and trying to keep pedestrians safe going up and down the brae. Widening the pavement at the bottom has made it safer for pedestrians and that’s what I’ve had calls about, people with buggies and pushchairs using the pavement and how close cars are. And going under that bridge although those measures might not be to everyone’s liking and they slow down the traffic they keep the traffic away from the pavement where people are walking. ” 

Murd maintained the the island to separate cars from cyclists was forcing drivers onto the wrong side of the road. Murd said that it worked perfectly well beforehand and he wanted to see the chicanes taken away. 

Liz was worried that two cars might try to squeeze under the bridge at the same time an reiterated her concern for pedestrians.

Morning Traffic at Station Brae

Stephanie Whittaker disagreed with Murd, she said: “the other day there was a wheelchair coming down from the home the other side of St Olaf’s and a buggy coming up and I had no choice but to go on the road. It’s dangerous, I’m an adult I can see what is happening, if you’re a kid going down to Millbank without any pedestrian access there it would be extremely dangerous. So I disagree with you I don’t think that can be taken out until something better is put in place.”

The community council agreed to take the subject forward to the next combined community council meeting of the town’s three CCs and Liz said she would ask the Council road guys if there were any suggestions they could make that would improve the situation.