‘It’s an accident waiting to happen’ – Councillor’s battle to get road markings reinstated on NC500 route at Keiss
A Caithness councillor has blasted the local authority’s “poor excuses” for failing to add road markings at a potential accident blackspot for kids at a village on the NC500 route.
Wick and East Caithness councillor Jan McEwan highlighted several areas in Keiss, close to the village primary school, which lack painted lines after road surfaces were resurfaced earlier this year.
“The issue is that there are no zebra crossing markings for the kids and this is a Safer Route to School,” said Cllr McEwan at a site on Main Street where two Belisha beacons are located.
“As you can see, the school’s just along there and the kids have to cross this road. The amount of traffic that goes through here on the North Coast 500 and coming off the ferries is absolutely horrendous. The days are getting shorter and the light’s not great as well.
“To be honest, I don’t think it’s a zebra we need here it’s a pedestrian crossing.”
She also pointed out that the road junction at Main Street (A99) and High Street has not had road markings reinstated as well as around Keiss Primary School close by.
Cllr McEwan thinks there is a high potential for accidents to occur at the crossing with it being situated at the brow of a hill and drivers may not notice it until too late. “You don’t actually see the beacons until you’re practically on the crossing.”
She said she has reported the matter to Highland Council on “numerous occasions” but no action has been taken. She also claims that Sinclair's Bay Community Council has also reported the issue.
“I keep getting told that the white line machine is out of action here in Caithness and Sutherland. The nearest one we could get up is in Ross-shire. That’s a poor excuse. If you had something that’s been out of action for months you’d make every attempt to get it fixed. This is an accident waiting to happen.”
She added: “There are no zigzag lines outside the school either. I have had representations made to me from numerous Keiss villagers about this safety issue but it’s just going unheard. This has been going on for months since the road was tarred.”
Cllr McEwan said she has spoken to the local authority’s road department and taken the matter to “senior members of staff” at the council’s HQ in Inverness but “still no joy”.
Safety issues around roads with no markings were particularly highlighted at Watten over 2021-2022 when four vehicle collisions and numerous near misses occurred at the junction of the A882 road and B870 in the village before the resurfaced area was repainted.
Cllr McEwan noted similar issues at the roundabout in the centre of Wick. “I’ve almost been smashed into three times by tourists coming down the Cliff Road thinking it’s a right of way as there are no lines there either.
“We need to get these white lines painted. It can take a bit of time to do but not this length of time.”
Highland Council was contacted and said that “no date can be confirmed” but that the local team will get the work done “once the resources to do it are available”.
The local authority said it would provide updates on the matter.