Last week in Parliament I raised concerns over the safety of the A92 with the Transport Minister during General Questions. This followed the recent tragic fatalities that have occurred on the road.
One serious incident on the road is one too many and our thoughts go out to the families of the tragic fatalities that have occurred over the past few months. Since 2007 the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have spent over £2 billion maintaining and improving Scotland’s trunk roads. Yet despite rising number of fatalities in the A92, the road has only seen under 1% of that spending.
After asking when the Scottish Government last met Transport Scotland, the Government body in control of truck roads in Scotland, I highlighted that since I’ve been elected and campaigned on the issue the fatality rate on the road had sadly increased.
I also asked ahead of a meeting taking place today (Monday 24th) between local politicians, including myself and campaigners, if the Transport Minister would be attending and if Transport Scotland would prioritise a serious investigation on the safety of the road.
Confirming that he would not be attending the meeting the Minister also noted that the will not be changing the STAG criteria. STAG is the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and supports the Scottish Government’s objectives by providing a clear framework to assess evidence based transport problems.
Serious questions have to be asked as to why there has been so little investment into a stretch of road which is seeing increasing number of serious accidents. Since I first entered Parliament I have joined with other politicians and campaigners to push for improvements to the A92. A long term plan has yet to materialise and the Transport Minister’s response to my question will be a disappointment to many.
While the focus for improvements has been at the Cadham and Balfarg junctions, many feel that this is not enough and the increasing number of serious accidents on the A92 demands further investigation into the safety of the road. It is imperative that Transport Scotland and Scottish Government look at all available options into improving the road.