Jams today, jams tomorrow
● Queues as far back as Halbeath ● Drivers warned for using bus lanes
Motorists were met with long tailbacks as the new Queensferry Crossing re-opened to traffic yesterday. In the evening rush-hour, traffic southbound was gridlocked to around six miles north of the bridge. Police said the delays were due partly to large numbers of people coming to see the £1.35 billion landmark.
Motorists travelling into Edinburgh across the Queensferry Crossing experienced six milelong tailbacks yesterday as the bridge re-opened to traffic.
Delays were due partly to large numbers of individuals coming to see the £1.35 billion landmark, police said.
Morning commuters were stuck in southbound queues for up to 30 minutes, with traffic stretching back to junction 2, Pitreavie, on the M90 between 7am and 9am as traffic adjusted to the new road layout.
However, the situation was even worse yesterday evening, with tailbacks as far back as junction 3, Halbeath, some six miles north of the bridge.
Drivers travelling northbound faced less significant delays, with the evening rush hour seeing traffic queuing halfway along the M90 spur around Kirkliston.
While there were no serious incidents, with traffic moving relatively freely during the early afternoon, some drivers were reported for using the crossing’s bus lanes.
Traffic Scotland warned those responsible that Police Scotland was monitoring traffic, and urged people not to use the lanes to “avoid queues”.
Both carriageways of the 1.7 mile-long bridge were reopened to traffic shortly after 1am yesterday following a week-long series of events to mark its completion.
Motorists were hit by delays on the opening day last week as sightseers flocked to drive over the structure. Transport officials said yesterday they had expected a repeat of the delays.
Traffic Scotland operator manager Stein Connelly said: “Demand for using the Queensferry Crossing when it first opened last week was very high. People were understandably coming to see the new bridge and this did lead to congestion.
“If you are commuting, check Traffic Scotland on Twitter for the latest information before you leave and if you are coming to the area to visit the bridge, we would ask that you do so when traffic is lighter.
“We have seen tremendous levels of interest in the crossing and we really appreciate people’s patience as the new arrangements bed-in.”
Inspector Peter Houston of Police Scotland’s roads policing unit said: “We do expect there to be long delays as people come to see the new bridge over the coming days.
“We would advise members of the public who currently cross the Firth of Forth as part of their commute to think about disruptions to their journey and to allow for extra travel time as traffic levels adjust.”
In the political stramash that has followed the launch of the SNP’S Programme for Government this week, most proposals have been attacked as unworkable, ineffective, too late, too little, too much … or simply wrong. One measure stands out as a triumph, however: the extension of free personal care to under-65s with degenerative conditions.
This is better known as “Frank’s Law”, after Frank Kopel, the former footballer who was diagnosed with vascular dementia at the age of 59. When he died after struggling with the condition for six years, Kopel had only been entitled to free personal care for all of three weeks.
The Scottish Government’s commitment to free personal care for those with degenerative conditions offers significant support to those affected, along with the national dementia strategy’s guarantee of post diagnostic support. But free personal care is only available to those over the age of 65. Dementia – or any degenerative condition, such as MND, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis – takes little account of what date a birth certificate states.
Although dementia is more likely to hit in old age, we are increasingly aware of early onset, which hits some in their 50s, and occasionally in their 40s. At a tragically young age, a degenerative condition can rob someone of the ability to wash, dress or eat without support.
The decision to open up free personal care to all ages may seem obvious, but for Frank Kopel’s widow Amanda, who has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of those like Frank who receive little or no care, there have been days when she feared she was getting nowhere; days when she felt like giving up. It is to her credit, and to the benefit of 9,000 people in Scotland who will now qualify for care, that she held her resolve, and we owe her a debt of gratitude for highlighting this unacceptable situation.
Credit also to Conservative MSP Miles Briggs who lodged a members bill at Holyrood in an attempt to implement Frank’s Law and prompted a reaction which demonstrated cross-party support.
If there is a sour note to sound, it is that it required the publicity attracted by a high-profile individual to put this matter firmly on the agenda. But it was ever thus.
What matters is that a wrong has been put right, through a combination of common sense and concensus at Holyrood. Let’s hope this catches on.