Letter to Courier about the A9

Text below of my letter published in the Inverness Courier and Strathspey Herald last week

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Dear Sirs

The Highland press has seen much coverage in the last few weeks of the argument between Danny Alexander MP and the SNP over dualling the A9 and speed cameras.

I think its time we all stopped playing politics with the A9.

It’s a vital connector for the Highland economy.  But it also needs to be safe to drive on, for locals, for visitors and regular commuters between Inverness, Edinburgh & Glasgow.

I’m one of those commuters so I know first-hand how frustrating and dangerous a road it can be. 

You only need to look at the A90 that serves Aberdeen to see the benefits dualling the A9 will bring.  We need to deliver a dualled A9, as quickly as possible, without politics getting in the way of finding the money. 

I’m also a regular train user, just as frustrated by long journey times, “passing stops” and inconvenient timetables. The rail link south also needs investment to increase capacity and shorten journey times.  Would the option of more rail freight take some big lorries off the A9?

Meanwhile, inter-city and local buses are the forgotten services in all of this; expensive and not meeting the needs of rural and town communities alike.

A fresh approach is needed – Westminster, Holyrood and The Highland Council working together – to deliver an integrated transport system that really works for the Highlands.  An approach that combines big capital investments in the A9 and the rail links to Inverness, alongside imaginative ideas to improve local bus services.

Less playing politics, more getting it done.