A community council is hoping that a visit to their next meeting by Transport Scotland officials will help in their campaign to have a speed limit of 40mph applied to a stretch of the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness route.
Dyke Landward Community Council have been campaigning for several years to have the speed limit on the A96 through Brodie reduced to 40mph.
An appeal to Transport Scotland in 2013 to have the current 50mph limit reduced was rejected, with the roads agency saying that the A96 through Brodie had been given special consideration – but a review concluded that the 50mph limit was appropriate.
That is a claim that has been disputed by local residents and the Community Council, who had previously pointed to an accidental death on the road when a 92-year-old visitor was knocked down close to the Old Mill Inn.
At that time the owner of the Inn, Kevin Edwards, pointed out that the road through Alves already had a 40mph limit while the A96 was correctly reduced to 30mph in built up areas through Elgin and Nairn.
A spokeswoman for the Dyke Landward Community Council said: “Transport Scotland and Bear Scotland are sending representatives to our public meeting on April 1, when we will have an opportunity to impress on them the strong feelings that exist in our community over this issue.
“It does appear that in the past more weight has been given to statistics drawn up in offices far from our community, that is something many in our community believe needs to change and that it is time the views and experiences of those who live in Brodie are taken into consideration.”
Ahead of the meeting the Community Council listed the main concerns outlined to them and which will be discussed with Transport Scotland and Bear Scotland:
• There is a lot of activity on the A96 at Brodie within a very short distance of road. This includes entrances to Brodie Countryfare and the Old Mill Inn, a road junction by the level crossing with traffic from local users and visitors to the NTS property Brodie Castle plus several minor and private accesses onto the trunk road.
• Bus stops on both sides of the road with no safe pedestrian crossing point.
• During ‘rush hour’ times it can be very difficult to get out onto the A96 from the level crossing junction particularly if turning west.
• It takes approximately three seconds to drive from the speed limit sign to the entrance to either Brodie Countryfare or the Old Mill Inn, depending on direction of travel, at 50mph, and this presumes that the drivers have slowed their vehicles to 50mph prior to reaching the sign.
• Hazardous position of bus stop for buses heading east, resulting in drivers leaving the level-crossing junction having restricted view to west.
• No street lights on this section of road making it even more hazardous for pedestrians after dark. There has been one fatality in recent years.
The meeting on April 1 is open to the public with the Community Council asking those with concerns over the issue to attend at the Dyke Village Hall at 7.30pm.