Residents demand action on nightmare congestion
‘NIGHTMARE’ congestion on Oban’s Soroba Road could be eased if Argyll and Bute Council removes bollards and boulders blocking a connection between Glenshellach and McKelvie roads, local residents and business owners have argued.
To drive into Oban town centre, residents of the housing estates on McKelvie and Glengallan roads must merge with vehicles from Lorn and Islands District General Hospital at the roundabout on Soroba Road, which during rush hour is gridlocked with heavy traffic going to or from work and school.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told The
Oban Times: ‘They’ve closed off a precious road that we need. We need all the roads available.’
Congestion has increased, residents and business owners said, by the building of many new houses on McKelvie and Glengallan roads, and with more on the way, it may only get worse.
A solution, they argue, would be to reopen the mile-long route into town along Glenshellach Road, much of which is lined with residential properties, and perhaps widen it or impose a one-way system.
Holidaymakers also use Glengallan and McKelvie roads to access the area’s two caravan and mobile home parks, despite the alternative route via Gallanach Road. Gallanachmore Farm advises on its website: ‘Please don’t use satnav to find us using our postcode, as it will take you the wrong way along a road which is blocked.’
Michael Tye, owner of Roseview Caravan Park on Glenshellach Road, told us his customers are ‘always saying it’s an absolute disgrace, and asking why it’s been shut off’.
Re- opening Glenshellach Road, Mr Tye argued, ‘ would make a hell of a difference’, and he called for a one-way system.
He added: ‘I was told there was no way that road would open. [ The council] said it wouldn’t take the traffic, and we all had to go down this new route. We’ve done all we can, but the council don’t seem interested, and there was no response except “Put your own signs up”.’
Argyll and Bute Council responded: ‘This is part of the housing development plan – Glenshellach Road is single track, whereas the new McKelvie Road is more suitable for the level [of] traffic arising from the new housing development. It features in the Local Development Plan and the relevant order was advertised in the local press in early April 2015. The route remains a public right of way for cyclists, etc.’