Stirling Observer

But road closures blasted by hotel owner

- Chris Marzella

One business owner was less than impressed by road closures as a result of the men’s cycling time trial.

The main route between Strathblan­e and Glasgow was shut for much of the day to facilitate safe passage for the riders.

And the A81 north of Milngavie was closed on Wednesday morning, with the closure extending eastwards.

Time triallists entered Strathblan­e via the A81 and past the Kirkhouse Inn before turning east on to the A891 and heading back to Glasgow.

Owner of the inn Allan Duncan was critical of the closures even though on Wednesday his bar was packed with lycra-clad cycling fans who had come to the village to enjoy the spectacle. He said: “It’s been a nightmare.

“We had to sleep on the sofa last night just so we could be at work today (Wednesday). You can’t get a room in here, it’s fully booked.

“It’s been fantastic in here today, but we had no lunches at all yesterday because of all of the road shut signs that were up and they have been up since last week.

“Last week they also closed the road between Milngavie and the hotel for resurfacin­g works for the cycling.

“Even though it’s been very good today, there’s no way it has made up for the last week.

“The road closures have been very badly advertised. The council are quick enough to come chasing us for our rates, but they don’t compensate us when they close the roads off. They should never have closed the road completely. ”

A spokespers­on for Stirling Council spokespers­on said: “This was a large scale event of internatio­nal significan­ce and the organisers and Stirling Council had a duty to alert road users to upcoming closures and disruption to the transport network.

“This was carried out through road signs, engagement with the community via letters and meetings, while ample notificati­on of closures was published on the Council website, social media feeds and national and local media, including the Stirling Observer.

“We appreciate hosting such a prestigiou­s event caused some disruption to the area and will always listen to comments from the communitie­s affected.”

 ??  ?? Criticism Allan Duncan
Criticism Allan Duncan

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