Meeting set to discuss crossings
A Kintyre councillor has pushed for a meeting which will discuss the possibility of creating new crossing points in Campbeltown.
Jim McGregor, an engineer for BEAR Scotland, the company, which maintains Scotland’s trunk road network on behalf of Transport Scotland, will be in attendance, alongside representatives from Police Scotland, Campbeltown Community Council, Kintyre Crime Prevention Panel, and Argyll and Bute councillors, including Donald Kelly, who arranged the meeting after campaigning for safer crossings for a number of years.
The main issues to be discussed are the removal of the red markings at the current pedestrian crossing points in the town; the removal of the crossing point at the Royal Hotel; the provision of a crossing at the Aqualibrium; and the provision of a crossing at the Co-op.
This comes after a questionnaire-type survey was carried out earlier this year despite a Transport Scotland officer indicating to Councillor Kelly that Campbeltown’s
A83 crossing points were not a priority.
Concerns have also been raised for some time by Campbeltown Community Council about what it considers unsafe crossings at the Co-operative and the Royal Hotel, where it is felt visibility is poor.
The issue has become even more pertinent with childcare now offered in the Aqualibrium since Argyll and Bute Council extended its provision of free early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours per year in Campbeltown.
Anne S Paterson, the council’s chief education officer, said: ‘This will entail increased pedestrian footprint
to the Aqualibrium, and parents, carers and young children will be crossing the main road to gain access to the building. For this reason we would support a crossing being in place.’
Councillor Kelly added: ‘This has been a long-running saga. Hopefully, this meeting will have a successful outcome with the removal of the road markings at the Royal Hotel and new permanent crossings installed at the Coop and Aquilibrium.
‘I fully appreciate this will not be ideal, but we will need to compromise to achieve any kind of a result.’
The meeting will be held at 2pm on Tuesday July 30 at the Royal Hotel.