A north councillor has welcomed an injection of funding improving the walk to school in a Highland town where a pupil was knocked down last year.
East Sutherland and Edderton councillor Jim McGillivray has been calling for action to improve safety on Evelix Road for many years.
This week, Highland Council announced that an additional £23,000 will be used to build a brand new pavement on the south side of the road, linking the town’s war memorial to the top of a path leading to the Willows housing development.
Nine-year-old pupil Dylan Davidson was knocked down on November 27 as he attempted to cross the road from the school side to access this path.
The youngster was airlifted to hospital in a critical but stable condition and is now thought to be making a successful recovery in hospital in Edinburgh.
Councillors previously approved £25,000 from the Cycling Walking and Safer Streets programme for a host of other traffic restrictions on the road.
These will involve a narrowing of the road at the top of the path, meaning traffic will have to slow down and give way to vehicles heading in the opposite direction.
Other improvements will include a gateway – a red textured marking on the road surface – leading up to the 30mph sign prior to the school from the west side.
The work will start imminently under the council’s Safer Routes to Schools scheme and is due to be completed by the end of the financial year by the authority’s community services staff.
Mr McGillivray worked with local headteachers and the parent council on proposals to reduce speed on the road earlier last year following a minor crash involving another schoolboy.
Yesterday Mr McGillivray, who lives locally in Embo, said: “Drivers may be frustrated about the restrictions but we are dealing with children’s lives here.
“I hope the new path will make the area safer and slow down traffic significantly. It will allow pupils to come up from the south side along Castle Street and walk up to a safe place to cross.
“The road’s safety has been a problem for a number of years. There have been several near misses with kids straying off the pavement, so we have been asking for things to be done, but finally when you get serious damage it’s time to bite the bullet.”
The extra funding was approved at Tuesday’s Sutherland County Committee, and the previous funding was confirmed at the meeting.