I'm sure that most folks passing through the town this past few days will have experienced the gridlock caused , yet again, by the traffic lights.
I would encourage as many people as possible to complain to Transport Scotland and the Scottish Ministers as I get the general impression that they really don't seem to understand how much of an issue is caused by both the number of sets of traffic lights we have, and the fact that they frequently malfunction.
You can email the top man at Transport Scotland -
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and those charged with running the country -
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The ANB email asking for action to be taken was :
Dear Sir,
Prior to the opening of a new supermarket on the outskirts of the town in 2011 , Nairn was (at Transport Scotland’s bidding), shackled with an additional four sets of traffic lights and one extra pedestrian crossing . This brought the total amount of traffic lights and pedestrian controlled crossings in the town to nine in just over 1½ miles of road.
Since the installation of the new lights and their integration into existing system, no more than a few weeks ever pass where the traffic control system functions anywhere near what might be laughingly described as ‘effectively’.
The town is regularly gridlocked and protests and suggestions made at recent consultations with Transport Scotland/ Bear seem to have been ignored.
Since late last week, some issue has arisen and the traffic lights have been causing ridiculous delays for drivers trying to pass through Nairn from west to east; a journey that should take 5 or 6 minutes, even at a busy time is now taking 15-20, even on a Sunday.
I don’t really care how many ‘engineers’ may have assessed the system ( particularly the light at the A96/ Lochloy Road junction , which seem to be the main culprits) but in non-technical terms , it doesn’t work.
Those poor souls who are left trying to negotiate the ineffective and unnecessary gauntlet of lights at the moment must be left wondering if the person that designed them had just wandered into Transport Scotland off the street on that given day . If not, following either the Peter, or Dilbert’s principle , you should offer him a place in the government, as he’s a natural.
Would you please engender a sense in the person responsible for the operation of the A96 through Nairn that:
a) The system, as installed, generally doesn’t work well.
b) At the moment , the system as installed does not work at all ( unless the design brief included engineering gridlock and encouraging vehicles onto unsuitable rural and urban rat-runs.
c) Nairn needs a bypass, or else the whole Inverness/ Aberdeen corridor will suffer economically.
So, to reiterate - We are a small town trying our best to get by in straitened times and cannot help but feel that government or its agencies should be listening to our concerns , and more to the point, doing something about them.
The traffic situation in Nairn is ridiculous and I will be interested to hear what you have planned for both the short term and the longer term but we need the issues that have arisen over the past few days to be addressed immediately.
David Brownless
Chair- Association of Nairn Businesses