The safety of motorists can’t wait until all the A9 is dualled say Dunkeld residents.
Two people lost their lives on the road just south of Birnam earlier this month.
“Now two people have died we feel it’s even more important that they do something,” says Pam Green.
Pam is convener of Birnam and Dunkeld Junctions Actions Group (JAG).
Following the recent double tragedy, the group has compiled a wish-list of measures they say could save lives.
Why is the road dangerous?
“It is now possible to drive all the way from Plymouth to Pass of Birnam on dual carriageways or motorways,” says Pam.
“The first single carriageway you come to going northbound is at the Pass of Birnam, just before the Birnam and Dunkeld junctions.
“This makes it a very dangerous junction in our view.”
The dualling of the section from Luncarty to Pass of Birnam was completed last year.
And Transport Scotland bosses are expected to unveil designs for the section at Dunkeld in a matter of months.
However, they describe the dualling project as a “complex exercise”.
Pam and her colleagues at Birnam and Dunkeld JAG say something has to be done about the A9 now and it cannot wait until the stretch is dualled.
She says drivers have insufficient warning about the single carriageway section at Dunkeld.
In addition, turning right at the Dunkeld and Birnam junctions involves waiting in the middle of the carriageway while vehicles including HGVs thunder past.
The group would like to see interim safety measures including:
- Improved signage to alert drivers to the start of the single carriageway.
- Street lighting at the junctions.
- Clearer road markings.
- A reduced speed limit where the A9 passes Dunkeld and Birnam.
- Speed cameras.
However, the group fears the Scottish Government will be reluctant to meet the cost of interim measures ahead of the substantial outlay for dualling the road.
Nearly everyone has had a ‘near miss’
Since the fatal accident near Dunkeld on October 6, the campaign to make the junctions safer has stepped up.
The JAG contacted Perthshire North SNP MSP John Swinney, who “wrote back the same day, saying that he would arrange some further dialogue on the junctions’ safety”.
Mr Swinney is now set to discuss the safety of the junctions at Dunkeld and Birnam with Transport Scotland officials.
JAG member David Bee says nearly everyone in the community has encountered issues at the Dunkeld junction.
“Most of my family and most of the people we know have had near misses.”
He adds that using the dangerous junction is a cause of anxiety for people living in Dunkeld and Birnam.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said police were investigating the recent tragedies on the A9.
“The recent accidents on the A9 are a tragedy for everyone involved. Our sympathies are with the families and friends of everyone affected by these events.
“Road safety is of paramount importance and we are working with Police Scotland and our operating companies to understand the circumstances of the accidents that have happened.
“We will continue to invest in the safety of the A9 where it is appropriate and possible to do so, and the A9 safety group will continue to consider safety for the wider route.”
Conversation