Community leaders in a Moray village are hopeful a meeting with transport chiefs will address safety fears about a major trunk road running through the settlement.
Residents and business owners have been calling for the speed limit to be reduced on the busy A96 Inverness-Aberdeen road through Brodie for years.
Dyke Landward Community Council chairwoman Carol Shaw hopes a meeting with Transport Scotland on April 1 will lead to action.
She said: “There is a lot of activity on the A96 at Brodie within a very short distance of road.
“We have a 50mph speed limit, no street lights, and yet there’s quite a few houses and a couple of businesses.
“This includes entrances to Brodie Countryfare and the Old Mill Inn, a road junction by the level crossing with traffic from local users and visitors to the NTS property, Brodie Castle plus several minor and private accesses onto the trunk road.
“There’s no street lights on this section of road either, making it even more hazardous for pedestrians after dark.
“Alves has a 40mph and street lights. We feel if it’s right for Alves, why isn’t it right for Brodie?
“I have spoken to as many residents as I can about the problem, but, hopefully, a number of them will be able to come and express their concerns at the meeting.”
In 2012, a pensioner was killed while trying to cross the road which runs through the village near the entrance to the Old Mill at dusk.
Kevin Edwards, who runs the Old Mill, called for action at the time, but, three years on, the speed limit remains unchanged.
Speaking last night, Mr Edwards said something had to be done about the accident black spot, which he described as “craziness”.
He said: ” I bought the Old Mill at Christmas 2005, and there’s multiple crashes every single year. There’s been a death, you can only see it getting worse.
“This meeting is an opportunity, and we will all be grasping it.”
Forres councillor Anne Skene said: “It is a very cluttered piece of trunk road, with several exits in a very short distance.
“I support the community council, who feel the speed limit could be taken down to 40mph or the 50mph signs could be moved further out.
“This meeting is a real opportunity to get the message across, and for the traffic department to see first hand the scale of the problem.”
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman confirmed a representative would attend the meeting, which is on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30pm in Dyke Village Hall.
