Transport bosses to look again at Glenfinnan 60mph speed limit
Bosses at Transport Scotland say they intend taking another look at the appropriateness of the 60mph speed limit on a controversial stretch of the A830 road at Glenfinnan.
The news comes in the wake of calls to reduce the speed limit from local community leaders in the village, which is struggling to cope with increasing traffic chaos brought by the more than 300,000 visitors flocking to the area each year.
The huge numbers of people desperate to visit the area’s viaduct, immortalised as the Harry Potter bridge in the famous movie series, along with those eager to see the Jacobite steam train and the monument to fallen clansmen in the 1745 uprising, have left roads in the area clogged with vehicles.
Now community leaders want Transport Scotland to reduce the village’s 60mph speed limit along a short stretch of the A830 road for safety reasons.
Because the Glenfinnan monument does not have its own car park, visitors must walk along and cross the A830 to gain access. Local children must also wait at the side of the road for their school bus pick-up.
Duncan Gibson, chairman of Glenfinnan Community Council, says the road is dangerous for visitors as well as local residents.
‘The road here is still a 60mph road and it is dangerous for visitors to cross. It is also dangerous for local children to cross this 60mph stretch to get to the school bus in the morning,’ Mr Gibson commented.
‘The Glenfinnan Community Council has fought many years to get the speed limit dropped to 30mph but without any success.’
And the local constituency MSP Kate Forbes has also now thrown her weight behind the community council’s efforts to get the speed limit reduced.
Asked to comment, a Transport Scotland spokesman told the Lochaber Times this week: ‘We recognise the concerns of the community regarding the speed limit at this location and that, in recent years, tourist activity in the area has increased.
‘We had already identified that we would like to revisit the appropriateness of the speed limit on the A830 in this area.
‘Our operating company is considering how best to take this forward as part of a range of priorities aimed at supporting our road casualty reduction programme.’
Ms Forbes, who is MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, told us: ‘It concerns me that cars can drive round the corner just before Glenfinnan at high speeds, only to slam on the brakes when they see people at the side of the road waiting to cross.
‘The vast majority of drivers and tourists are sensible, but I do welcome Transport Scotland’s commitment to review the signage and the speed limit at the spot.’
Meanwhile, the A830 at Glenfinnan is set to benefit from an upgraded road surface with £165,000 of improvement works due to begin at the end of this month.
The improvements are scheduled to get under way between 7pm and 7am each night for five nights, starting on Sunday July 29.
Due to the restricted road widths at this location, the A830 will need to be closed in both directions during working hours to ensure the safety of road workers as well as road users.
Turn to page 26 for more details of the closures.