New road issue at Catalina Avenue
A 25FT ROCK face in the middle of a residential area in Oban is causing more concern, with boulders being thrown onto the road below, writes David McPhee.
Previously The Oban Times reported that children were using the exposed drop, which is situated behind Lorn and Islands District General Hospital, below Catalina Avenue, as a shortcut.
However, over the weekend a concerned resident took to a public group on social media to report a number of boulders that had been rolled onto the road.
He said: ‘It seems to be the new pastime for a small group of kids to roll the rocks off the hillside onto the road. Caught three kids rolling them down onto the road tonight, only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured up there. It’s about time MacLeod Construction Ltd and Argyll and Bute Council got their heads together before there is an accident.’
The road is currently maintained by developer MacLeod Construction, which is in the process of having a fence built.
A one-metre-high fence will be positioned at the bottom of the rock face and another at the bus turning circle to deter members of the public from using the route.
This will be done as soon as the fencing contractor is available to do so. As it stands, the firm is busy finishing off houses at Glenshellach.
Councillor Jim Lynch, for Oban South and the Isles, said: ‘It seems to be the children are going up to the top and throwing rocks.’
Councillor Lynch raised a number of questions, saying: ‘I am not an expert, but can we stop the children going up there? The last thing you want is someone driving and a rock comes down. Can we take these rocks away? Are they going to put something at the bottom? Has that bit been risk assessed?
‘I don’t want to blame anyone, but it’s something we need to do together and figure out an answer to.’
A Glenshellach resident said: ‘It’s only by luck that some poor little kid has not fallen down that and smashed into the rocks below.
‘The fence is a possible remedy, but the children will climb over it. What should have been done is a re-contour so there was not such a sheer rock face.
‘This is a beautiful area, but tourists won’t come back because what they see is what looks like a coal face. The place is ugly.’
The resident added: ‘We want to be part of a solution.’