Campaigners calling on the Scottish Government to act urgently over the dualling of the A9 have seen an online petition close with nearly 4000 verified signatures.
On November 28 the A9 Dual Action Group began a petition calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to deliver on the commitment it made in 2011, and address safety concerns on the A9.
They wanted a revised timetable and detailed plan for dualling each section to be published.
The group, which takes particular interest in the Inverness to Birnam sections of the road which are still to be given a second carriageway, wants concrete assurances that the dualling work will be completed by 2025 and additionally they want a memorial put up to those who have lost their lives in road traffic incidents on the A9.
They point to the exponential rate of fatalities. Since the dualling was promised in 2011, 59 people have lost their lives on the Perth to Inverness section of the A9 (based on figures provided by Transport Scotland).
The Action Group members are also concerned that, more than 10 years after being labelled a priority, it is looking increasingly likely the Scottish Government will fail to deliver on their commitment to complete the A9 dualling project by 2025.
Petition founder Laura Hansler spent the month of December making press appearances to highlight the public feeling behind the campaign.
She explained that the recent deaths on the Ballinluig, Dowally, Hermitage and Birnam stretches of the A9 had prompted some relatives of the deceased to contact her to “get something done”.
Commenting on the month of systematic name gathering that has just taken place, Laura said: “A significant appeal has been made by many Highlands and Perthshire people.
“Already we have achieved a lot and there is a lot of hard work ahead which we are committed to seeing through until we get the results the group wants.”
On December 29, the day after no more names could be added to the Scottish Parliament petition, page admin Chris Cade published a post on the A9 Dual Action Group Facebook page: “Thank you to everyone in this group and to everyone who signed the petition. We achieved 3,814 signatures.
“Laura Hansler has put in and is still doing a lot of hard work into the first part of the action we are taking, including the petition.
“Laura also has done many press interviews, and [the petition’s success] would not have been possible without the support of every member of this group.”
Previous action taken by the group includes contacting Fergus Ewing MSP and Kate Forbes MSP.
The message highlighted by the campaigners is that the A9 has now become “a road barely fit for purpose with an unsustainable influx of traffic on the infrastructure” that can only be remedied by dual carriageway, all the way.
