A woman petitioning the Scottish Government to fulfil its promise to fully dual the A9 says it is treating communities living on the route as a “forgotten backwater”.
Laura Hansler, 52, from Kincraig has submitted a petition calling on the government to dual the road between Perth and Inverness by 2025 and to publish a detailed plan for each section of work.
Despite the deadline being only a couple of years away, so far only 30 miles have been dualled.
The petition closes on Wednesday, December 28 and has been signed by almost 3,700 people.
In the past year alone, 13 people have died on the 112-mile stretch of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
Ms Hansler now says there would be a “public outcry” if that death toll happened in the central belt.
‘We are at a standstill’
She is hoping her petition will get to 4,000 signatures before the deadline, after it gathered thousands of signatures in the first few days alone.
The petitioner said: “It is a really emotive subject here.
“We are at a standstill.
“There are far too many deaths on the road and people are getting very frustrated.
“Even local people who know the road well are getting scared because the road is not fit for purpose.”
Ms Hansler has meetings planned in the New Year with each political party and with Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth to discuss her concerns, and says she hopes there will be direct action taken on the back of her petition.
Ms Hansler added: “It is in an absolutely disgraceful state of repair and you can get disorientated quite quickly, regardless of how well you know the road.
“People are getting angry, upset and frustrated and they feel helpless because nothing is getting done.
“They see us as a forgotten backwater and I have had enough of it.”
‘This would not be allowed on the M8’
Transport chiefs are a year and a half late in publishing a strategy for dualling the entire A9, making it unlikely Transport Scotland will complete the remaining 80 miles by the 2025 deadline.
But Ms Hansler says the promise to dual the road is desperately needed due to the “crazy behaviour” of some drivers and the rising number of deaths.
She said: “People do what they like, they stop right in front of you to take a photograph.
“People think it is a country road and it is not, they are completely unaware the conditions can change every couple of miles.
“The whole thing needs looked at because this is not a local back road, it is a major trunk road and the number of deaths is completely unacceptable.
“This would not be allowed to happen on the M8 or M9 – there would be a public outcry.”
Ms Hansler said the issue is of particular importance to those living in her hometown of Kincraig because they often have to see the emergency services rushing to get to an accident, or hear the air ambulance passing overhead.
She added she also wants authorities to focus on Slochd as it has become an “accident blackspot” in recent years.
A9 needs ‘urgent attention’
A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said one death is “one too many” and said the increase in fatalities on the A9 “requires urgent attention”.
She added: “Over the next four months, £95,000 will be invested on further A9 safety schemes including enhanced signage and road markings across the A9 Ballinluig southbound, the A9/B8079 junction and the A9 at Ralia.
“Transport Scotland is also developing a programme of additional safety measures for the A9 that can be delivered this financial year and beyond, ahead of dualling.”
Ms Hansler’s petition also calls for a memorial to those who have lost their lives on the road between Perth and Inverness to be built, however this is something Transport Scotland says is not possible.
They say a memorial would further increase the risk to people’s safety and families and friends bereaved by road deaths should find another way to remember their loved ones.
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