Breakish Road Footpath Petition

Here's now the final report.

From: Bob.Mitchell@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk [mailto:Bob.Mitchell@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk]
Sent: 28 December 2007 14:57
To: Chris Eckl
Cc: Sharon.McIlroy@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk; Martin.Graham@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk; Harvey.Kaplan@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk
Subject: A87 Trunk Road, Breakish, Isle of Skye - Request for Provision of Footway

Dear Mr Eckl

Further to our telephone discussion on Monday 17 December 2007 I now enclose the up to date version of the Feasibility Report on the provision of the missing footway link at Breakish, which  Scotland Transerv prepared at my request.

As I explained when we spoke, my understanding is that the present lengths of footway to the east and west of the 'missing' section were provided by the Trunk Road Authority, after A87 became a Trunk Road, as part of a general road improvement which also widened the road and provided better road drainage. It appears that land was purchased to allow this work to be carried out. Such projects can take a considerable length of time between identification and construction, because of two factors: the land acquisition procedures, and the need to make available large sums of money, perhaps in excess of £1M, from relatively small budgets.  

When I received the initial request for provision of the 'missing link' footway from a local resident, earlier this year, I recognised that if a footway was to be provided relatively quickly the best solution would be to construct it within land already under the control of the Trunk Road Authority, and not as part of such a road improvement scheme.  Accordingly I asked Scotland Transerv to investigate the practicality of providing a footway within the existing road boundaries. The Feasibility Report  demonstrates that this is possible, but that a continuous footway could not be built on one side of the road only, without land acquisition. 

The current situation is that the principle of providing the 'missing link' footway at the locations indicated in the Feasibility Report, is agreed by Transport Scotland, and so the scheme has  been added to a list of similar minor improvements awaiting funding.

I can not however give any firm commitment about when this project can be funded. The preliminary estimate of cost is £220,000, which is a very large proportion of this financial year's total budget (currently £1M) for schemes like this, in the whole of the North West of Scotland contract area (Stirling to Thurso, and A9 westward to Uig).

Although it can not be guaranteed, if it is assumed that the same budget may be available in future years, the most likely funding arrangements would be that the cost be spread over two consecutive financial years.  However there are a number of schemes in the current year's programme which will require to be completed from next financial years budget, and it can not be guaranteed at this time that any funds will be available in 2008-09 toward this scheme. The detailed design will however be progressed during 2008. The earliest therefore that such an arrangement could be put in place would be late in financial year 2008-09, and early in year 2009-10, depending on funds being available at that particular time.

As I indicated when we spoke, the need to provide the requested footway is recognised and  the high level of interest and correspondence which the subject has generated from local residents is acknowledged.  As a result of this, I  propose to offer to attend a local Community Council meeting at some mutually convenient time in the Spring, to present information current at that time.

Whilst I do appreciate that there may be some local people who would prefer to see the footway completed on the south side only, there will be some to whom it will be a positive benefit to have it on both sides. However if, between now and detailed design being begun sometime in 2008, any appropriate landowners contact Transport Scotland offering to make land available by negotiation within a specified short timescale, I would be willing to instruct  that the feasibility of completing the link on the south side only, be examined.

If the current proposals are progressed, the treatment of areas where pedestrians will require to cross the road will need to be considered carefully and that will be part of the detailed design process. I will require that design to take account of current speeds through the community, and would hope that measures will be able to be incorporated which will help to reduce speeds from their current levels.   

I hope the above information, in addition to that contained in the Feasibility Study Report, is helpful. I believe I have covered all the issues we discussed last week, but please contact me again early in January if there is anything you believe is outstanding.

Yours sincerely

Bob Mitchell

Area Manager North

Transport Scotland

Trunk Roads - Network Management Directorate

Buchanan House

58 Port Dundas Road

Glasgow G4 0HF

tel 0141 272 7357

mob 07825011527

mailto:bob.mitchell@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk

And here are the attachments:

Report Documents

We are trying to meet next week Monday to discuss. Meeting at 19:30 at Struanlea.

Chris

Thanks to the West Highland Free Press who again picked up our story and featured it on the front page. They also contacted Transport Scotland and got a similar message that the funding needs to be spread over 2 budget years. They therefor got the message it will take until 2010 before the footpath becomes a reality.

Thanks to Michael Russell from the Free Press!

Here's the picture:

Taken from Breakish Road Footpath Petition: Free Press Pictures

And here's the article:

Click here to read it

Have a Merry Christmas and we'll pick up the pressure in the New Year

Chris

Hi There

Just had Bob Mitchell from Transport Scotland on the phone. He wasn’t happy that we had the survey without him having reviewed it trough my Freedom of Information request and ask me to destroy my copies. If you downloaded it could you also please do so.

He will send the right version with plans this week. And he’ll add a letter explaining his thinking of the options.

He spent some time on the phone explaining the various options and his budget constraints and was also saying that our pressure through elected representatives and press is helping it compete with other projects (so we need to keep this up).

On the options he was explaining that he asked for a study that would not require any lot of land purchases so this option certainly would not be the “widen the road and put a footpath on the south side” option as this would be a multi million pounds project. The option he’s proposing would involve crossing the road 2 times and a footbridge (details will be in the plans when they come). This option would be around £250k and would soak up most of their yearly maintenance budget for the whole network (?). The big option would come from a different budget (road improvement rather than maintenance) but that’s less likely to happen as quickly as the small option.  He also wanted to come up to Skye nearer to the project to speak to the community and explain.

The Footpath would be 1.5m wide and have a hard (not loose stone) surface so would be suitable to cyclists as well (but not shared with a divider line).

He acknowledged the problems with the road and mentioned they probably didn't finished the project at the time due to the vertical challenges in this middle bit. He mentioned the double white line that has been added and I told him that this would not be the only place where a double white line would be needed (you know where our exit is !!). He told me he'd follow this one up, too.

His thinking was that (my interpretation) if we keep up the pressure through elected representatives it’ll get the budget in the next financial year (from April 2008) but might be split into 2 budget years (so might not be finished until 2009).

Well I think at least the FoI and the pressure got him moving.

Let’s hope for the best.

I think next step is a steering group meeting so we can discuss how we keep the pressure up.

Chris

We have at the beginning of December received a response from Transport Scotland. This is seemingly the response from the Minister through Bob Mitchell the Area Manager. From feedback I also heard the same letter went out to everybody who wrote in (seemingly without going into details about the individual concerns voiced).

Read the response

This week we should be receiving the preliminary study. I've also asked them if there were any studies done when the original part of the footpath was built so let's see what this brings up, too.

Chris

From: Lis Phillips

I phoned Stewart Stevenson’s office today. His staff reported that a reply to our letters is with the minister at the moment for him to sign and everyone who wrote should get a reply in the next 7-10 days. I asked if it was just an acknowledgement letter, and she said no, that it was a ‘considered response’, but would not divulge any more than that!

Cheers
Lis