Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Could traffic lights be installed on the A96 at Forres to improve road safety?

There are worries pedestrians are "taking their lives in their hands" to get to the town's railway station.

A96 at Forres
Moray MP Douglas Ross wants road safety improvements on the A96 at Forres. Image: Supplied

Traffic lights could be installed on the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road at Forres in an attempt to improve road safety.

The major road currently splits the town from its railway station with only a traffic island there to make the walk safer for pedestrians.

Moray MP Douglas Ross and Forres councillor Kathleen Robertson have pressed Transport Scotland to install a crossing.

It comes as another set of traffic lights are already due to be installed on the A96 on the eastern approach to Elgin.

Forres A96 traffic lights would be 13th set within 24 miles

Concerns about safe walking to Forres railway station have been raised since before it moved to its current location in October 2017.

New pavements and a traffic island were installed as part of the project, but Mr Ross and Mrs Robertson say locals are still anxious to cross the busy road.

Douglas Ross and Kathleen Robertson next to A96 in Forres.
Douglas Ross and Kathleen Robertson next to the A96 in Forres. Image: Supplied

Mr Ross said: “They are taking their lives in their hands at times crossing this busy road, without a suitable crossing, which is why I have been pushing for a commitment for some time now.

“It is an encouraging step forward that transport bosses have reaffirmed their plans to look at installing a crossing near to the Greshop roundabout, and are now expanding that investigation to look at further sites along the bypass.”

Mrs Robertson highlighted that Elgin already has five crossings on the A96 while Nairn has seven.

Traffic on A96 with Forres railway station behind.
Road safety concerns on the A96 in Forres extend back to when the railway station was in its former location. Image: DC Thomson

She sadded: “Residents living close to this part of the A96 have been short-changed for too long.

While other major areas along the route like Elgin and Nairn have many pedestrian crossings, Forres does not have one.”

When would new traffic lights be installed?

In a letter to Mr Ross, Transport Scotland said they had asked contractors Amey to examine  the feasibility of traffic lights near the Greshop roundabout.

The investigation will take place during the current financial year with no estimate on when any work would be done.

A96 Google Map image of Forres traffic island.
The current traffic island near Forres railway station. Image: Google

Warnings have also been issued that the investigation does not guarantee any improvements will be recommended.

Director of Roads Hugh Gillies wrote: “We have also instructed this investigation to be extended to cover active travel accessibility along the A96 Forres bypass and will include access to Forres train station which you have identified.

“It is important to highlight whilst an investigation will be undertaken, this does not guarantee that engineering improvement measures will be recommended.”

Conversation