Second best not good enough

IT IS a drum the Advertiser has banged before, and we make no apology for beating it again.

It is this newspaper’s belief that we in Argyll are thinking too small in relation to our strategic road network.

As Scotland’s transport minister Humza Yousaf repeated during his visit to Mid Argyll this week – we live in times of ‘financial constraints’, but that is no reason to constrain our imagination for the longer term.

For the sake of our future we must be looking at bridges across our lochs. We have to consider tunnels through our hills - and perhaps under our lochs as well. And why not consider dualling the trunk roads?

We have a 20th-century road network which is largely based on 18th and 19th century routes.

We are now in the 21st century where communication is more vital than ever to the sustainability of communities.

This is no criticism of the people working hard to improve the A83, but there has to be fresh, young thinking. And the old hidebound civil servant mindsets must be set aside to make way for new, vital ideas.

Where is the money coming from? Again, we must open our minds and approach our Argyll communication challenges with confidence. Be bold and funders might be attracted.

And if billions can be found for central belt and east coast projects around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen, the A9 and Inverness – then why should we continue to accept second best?