S3M-2148 A92 (Upgrading)

Scottish Parliament

Wednesday 3 September 2008

[THE PRESIDING OFFICER opened the meeting at 09:30]

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A92 (Upgrading)

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman): The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S3M-2148, in the name of Ted Brocklebank, on the upgrading of the A92. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament supports the campaign to dual the A92 from Glenrothes to the Melville Lodge roundabout in north east Fife and as a priority to upgrade the Parbroath junction, which is the only major intersection between Kirkcaldy and Dundee without a roundabout; commends the efforts of local people campaigning to upgrade the section between Preston roundabout and Balfarg junction, and notes that in terms of accidents the A92 is one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland with over 600 accidents in the last five years.

17:02

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17:31

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson): I thank Ted Brocklebank for lodging the motion and giving members the opportunity to debate the A92.

Although I had no personal contact with John MacDougall, I join others in respecting the contribution that he made to political life in a different tradition from my own. I have heard from others that, as an individual and as a campaigner for the people whom he represented, he was a doughty man. Mesothelioma—the terrible disease that John suffered from—has been an issue close to my heart and one on which I have contributed in previous sessions.

There are always difficulties when we talk about numbers, and we have heard several different figures this evening. I most closely recognised the numbers that Iain Smith used, which came from the Scottish Parliament information centre briefing. We heard a reference to 600 accidents on the A92; I should stress that that reference covers the road all the way to Stonehaven, including the part of the road that is not a trunk road, north of the bridge.

The figures that I have suggest that, from New Inn to the south end of the Tay bridge, four people have been killed and 27 have been seriously injured in the past five years. None of the arguments that we might have about figures is intended to relieve us of the obligation to consider the important issue of safety on the A92, but we need to ensure that the numbers are in perspective.

I know that Ted Brocklebank has been engaged in the issue before. In 2006, he raised the issues of road signs and street lighting at Parbroath. Since the work that he promoted has been done, there has been a single accident with a slight injury in 18 months. If I may link that to some of Iain Smith's comments, that illustrates that we can, with relatively simple and quick interventions, make some significant improvements.

Ted Brocklebank: I do not want to cavil too much over exact figures, but from checking with Fife Constabulary this afternoon my understanding is that there have been significant accidents—although no fatalities—at the Parbroath junction in each of the past five years.

Stewart Stevenson: We could have a debate about that, but I do not want to fall out with members on the subject of numbers. The accident record, both serious and fatal, appears to be declining. If there are different numbers, I will be happy to engage on them with members after the debate.

Rather than get unduly hung up on that issue, let us turn to the substance of the matter. I have met Tricia Marwick and I hope to meet Claire Baker shortly—I understand that we have been able to rearrange that meeting fairly quickly. The first priority of our approach to road transport is to maintain and operate safely our strategic networks. Our second priority is to make use of existing capacity and our third is to proceed with targeted new infrastructure developments. Giving safety considerations primacy when we make our investment decisions represents a sensible and prudent approach to the allocation of scarce resources.

Across the piece, the road might be safe or it might be dangerous but, as with many roads, there are localised areas where safety is an issue and where the architecture or the design of the road contributes to the problems that lead to accidents. Two thirds of accidents are caused primarily by drivers, but that is a result of their interacting with the architecture of our roads.

We know that many organisations are involved in improving road safety. Our strategic road safety plan sets out how the Scottish Government works with the police, local authorities and organisations such as Road Safety Scotland further to improve safety on Scotland's roads. I pay tribute to all their efforts.

The statistics that were published last month revealed that 282 people were killed on Scotland's roads last year—that is the lowest figure since recording started, and it compares with a figure of 308 for the previous year, but it is still too high. For the relatives, friends and families of the victim, every such death is a 100 per cent tragedy, and neither for me nor, I believe, for anyone who is present this evening is it simply a statistic.

A number of changes have been made in the Glenrothes area. The geometry of the Balfarg junction has been improved, as have facilities for pedestrians, and anti-skid surfacing has been put in place. The A92 route action management plan reported in 2004, and centre hatching, red surfacing, bollards and improved signs have been put in place along the whole length of the route. Resurfacing and central island hardening are planned at the Redhouse roundabout during this financial year. Such measures, along with a range of smaller-scale improvements, play an important role in improving road safety without detracting from longer-term aspirations to deliver more significant interventions.

We believe that strategic transport links are critical to the achievement of the Government's central purpose. We fully recognise the kingdom of Fife's contribution to the economy of Scotland and the need for the people who live there to have every opportunity to gain from the improvement efforts that are made there.

The strategic transport projects review, which is about not just roads but all means of surface transport, will be concluded shortly, so I have no rabbits to pull out of the hat tonight. We have engaged in the drafting of the summary report and an announcement will be made in the not-too-distant future. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton was involved in the process; indeed, I think that all former ministers have had something to say on the matter. The accident count appears to be coming down.

Tricia Marwick asked whether I would consider reviewing the Balfarg and Cadham junctions. I am certainly prepared to have Transport Scotland assess whether some quick improvements could be made at those points. In a measured speech, Iain Smith highlighted the speed limit in Freuchie, where I acknowledge that there are difficult junctions, and mentioned the possibility of additional roundabouts. We will take all that on board.

Fife makes a significant contribution to the country's economy. That will be reflected in the opening later this year of the upper Forth crossing and it is reflected, too, in our commitment to provide a Forth replacement crossing, without which Fife would undoubtedly suffer severe economic impact. I have listened carefully to what has been said in the debate and will take away a great deal of it as food for thought. We will continue to make the upgrades that we are able to make as quickly as we can. The strategic transport projects review covers the ten years from 2012 to 2022, but there are some measures that we can take in the meantime.

Meeting closed at 17:39.