In a letter to the town's four Highland Councillors, Sheena Baker, chair of Nairn West and Suburban Community Council states:
"This CC is concerned at the exceedingly high level of exhaust emissions along the A96 and Leopold Street. This is detrimental to the health of anyone walking, living, or working in the vicinity.
A few years back, Johnny Moran of Scottish Government initiated monitoring equipment being placed by the school. Regrettably, this failed to return any results as those present at his meetings were advised the equipment may have been vandalised!
Time moves on and with the ever-increasing traffic delays throughout Nairn, especially the A96 and Leopold Street, we believe it is now a matter of urgency for the pollution levels to be monitored.
Traders in Leopold Street have found the exhaust emissions pervading their premises. With the warmer summer weather shop doors are left open and the fumes are noticeable in their shops. This is not a healthy situation for the business owners and their staff all of whom are in these buildings for many hours at a time. Customers have also noticed the fumes and whilst they may not be breathing them in as the staff are for protracted times it will still be having a detrimental affect on their health walking along the roadsides with the queues of static or extremely slow moving traffic.
The lights at the Leopold junction clearly need attention as do the Lochloy junction set. If lucky, four sometimes five cars manage to get out of Leopold Street before the lights change again. When the traffic is backed up across the A96 yellow boxes and along the front of the bus station car park sometimes only one manages to get out.
Can I ask the four of you to initiate a scheme to have monitors placed in several locations along the A96, especially near the many sets of lights where traffic is stopped? Likewise, in Leopold Street, either of the area close to Brambles or Hair Dimensions would be good locations."
Maybe time to pedestrianise the high street, improve the streetscape to make it a welcoming destination that people will want to spend time visiting and browsing
ReplyDeleteMonitors are already in place in Nairn.
ReplyDeleteNo Surprise, frequently have to wait 15 to 20 minutes just to get off Leopold Street, then you have to deal with all of the red light runners on the A96.
ReplyDeleteTraffic levels on the A96 is causing a range of problems for Nairn. The justification for a Nairn Bypass has been validated through the Local Public Inquiry and the Scottish Government has approved Transport Scotland to complete the final stage of the statutory process - to make the Orders (Roads and Compulsory Purchase). Unfortunately there seems to be a delay for this stage to be completed allowing the procurement of a contractor to begin? Meanwhile the community suffers the many negative consequences of having a busy trunk road through the town. Rosebank Primary School has placed many plants along their frontage with the A96 to screen and mitigate against the traffic noise and fumes. Air monitoring equipment installed at Academy Street/Queensgate in Inverness has been recording data for years. So why can't Transport Scotland or BEAR Scotland get equipment operational in Nairn? I respectfully suggest to NWSCC that air quality monitoring is not needed, but rather the removal of through traffic on the existing urban section of the A96 Trunk Road at the earliest possible date. NAIRN needs a bypass now, A96 road users deserve a dual carriageway. I recall an image of the then Transport Minister promoting A96 Dualling consultations in Nairn back in 2013. Was it really that long ago. The Scottish Government should deliver the Nairn Bypass and improve conditions for those who walk, cycle, play or work beside the existing A96.
ReplyDeleteImage of Keith Brown MSP in Nairn P&J 2013
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Very reassuring to hear the First Minister in the last few days commit to the dualling of the A96 from Inverness through to the other side of Auldearn. Local farmers and landowners must know how well the neccessary land purchases are progressing? Only after that complex stage of due process is concluded can the commissioning and construction begin.
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