Fury over waiting times to travel short distances in Fort William has increased this weekend, with Mountain Bike World Cup traffic has brought the town to a virtual standstill.
Slow-moving traffic is a perennial problem that has no end in sight, says Highland Councillor Ben Thomson, who sits on the influential A82 stakeholders group.
Mr Thomson told the Press and Journal: “I have every sympathy with people who are complaining about the traffic during the Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William. It seems to get worse every year.
“It isn’t just this weekend – and it is a real problem. And the bad news is – it is going to be a long wait for any substantial changes to be made, due to the way the Scottish Government plans to fund projects in the future.
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“We have tried lots of comparatively low cost short term measures and nothing has eased the congestion problem. Unlike other areas where there is a local road and a trunk road – we don’t have that in Fort William. So all traffic goes on the same road.
“The town needs a road that takes the A82 traffic away from the town, while allowing traffic on the local road to move freely. We have asked for this project to be included in the next round of funding as part of the Strategic Transport Projects Review.
“This is not guaranteed and could take a number of years. In the meantime we need to continue to grow the economy of Lochaber – with events like the Mountain Bike World Cup.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Mountain Bike World Cup has been extremely important to the local economy, with an economic impact of £36.5 million since 2002.”
Saying advance notice of possible delays in the area had been placed on social media and in the press, the spokesman continued: “Longer term, Transport Scotland officials met again with the Fort William Congestion Working Group earlier this year.
“Further assessment of the road network is being undertaken and may identify some possible measures to ease the traffic problems experienced at peak times.
“This work will also provide useful evidence for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, which will deliver a strategic investment plan for transport in Scotland for the next 20 years.”
