120 residents swamped by 750,000 tourists make their own traffic signs

THE village made famous by STV soap High Road is at the centre of a major battle over tourist traffic.

Frustrated locals in Luss, on the banks of Loch Lomond, have erected five of their own 8ft road signs to try to get tourist traffic off their streets.

Peter Robertson, viceconvenor of Luss and Arden Community Council, said: “People are at their wits’ end and have resorted to putting up signs because the council has failed to act.

“We have to question the competence of the council to handle tourism.”

Luss resident Alison Walker said: “The villagers are seriously talking about blocking roads.”

Luss’s 120 residents have to share its narrow roads that often have no pavements with 750,000 visitors and their cars each year, putting it ninth on the list of the most-visited attractions in

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Scotland, ahead of Stirling Castle, the Falkirk Wheel and Edinburgh Zoo.

They are also calling for the Scottish Government to step in to avoid a repeat of last summer’s “scenes of chaos” in the village, which was used as a backdrop to Take the High Road between 1980 and 2003.

Valerie Jones, whose son attends the village primary school, said: “The traffic situation is dangerous, particularly for children and elderly residents.

“The community has been offering for years to build a new car park.

“Visitors would park in an area close to the heart of the village but not block it up.”

Last year, Argyll and Bute Council accepted in principle a blueprint drawn up by locals to manage traffic but has not acted to implement it. The council was approached for comment last night.

ALISON WALKER ON RESIDENTS’ ANGER