A75 road maintenance upgrades: EIR release
- Published
- 16 January 2025
- Topic
- Public sector, Transport
- FOI reference
- FOI/202400439095
- Date received
- 4 November 2024
- Date responded
- 2 December 2024
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
Information related to the 20mph roll out and the A75 upgrades.
Response
For ease of reference I have listed your requests below reflecting your numbering in your request in the section 'Response to your request'.
As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
Response to your request
Q1a - Has the national delivery sub group now agreed the required funding with LA representatives?
The Scottish Government has invested £4 million this fiscal year, 2024-25 to fund targeted initiatives designed to protect pedestrians and cyclists through the roll out of 20mph speed limits. Dumfries and Galloway Council has been provided with £215,280 to support their 2024/25 20 mph roll out.
Q1b - If the response to 1.a. is in the affirmative what is the outcome regarding LA funding to assist in implementing their 20mph rollout before the end of 2025?
The Scottish Budget is agreed on an annual basis, therefore no awards of multi-year funding is possible as there is no future funding guaranteed. We are unable to offer multi-year funding for the implementation of 20mph speed limits.
Q2a - Aside from Scottish Borders and Highlands pilot areas where else in Scotland have any trunk route community streets now been given 20mph protection?
20mph speed limits are also currently in force in settlements on the Trunk Road in Midlothian, Fife, South Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross and Stirling.
Q3a - Please confirm the decision making and subsequent procedural mechanism by which the relevant Council and/or Transport Scotland are to secure the roll out of 20mph to trunk route streets outside of the pilot Highlands and Scottish Borders council areas.
The Scottish Government has committed to implement 20 mph speed limits on those roads where it is appropriate to do so by 2025. The 20mph task group explored the most effective way of achieving that commitment in Scotland, and in December 2023 it was agreed to support road authorities to expand 20 mph speed limits where appropriate as the optimum route to implement.
New guidance, which has been widely consulted on with key partners providing valued input, has been published in October 2024, it will replace all 20mph guidance in Scotland and will support a consistent approach to the introduction of the national implementation for 20mph speed limits in Scotland.
It is the intention that wherever possible, for any given location, 20mph speed limits on the trunk road are introduced at the same time as those on the Local Authority’s roads. This will simplify installation, provide a consistent message to drivers and prevent the abortive work of signage being installed at junctions by the Local Authority before potentially being removed shortly afterwards by Transport Scotland, or vice versa.
The findings of Transport Scotland’s assessments, using the road assessment criteria, have been shared with the relevant Local Authorities. Following further consultation with Police Scotland and the Local Authority a decision will be taken on whether a 20mph speed limit is appropriate in a specific location.
Where a 20mph limit is deemed appropriate this will be implemented through a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order in the first instance to allow for monitoring and evaluation to be carried out prior to a decision being made on whether they should become permanent.
Q4a - Is the UKG funding now effectively cancelled for the route upgrade study and nothing progessing in that regard?
The UK Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, states that the UK Government will “move toward feasibility work on improvements to the A75 by providing up to £5 million in 2025 26.”
The Autumn Budget 2024 can be accessed on the UK Government website using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-2024/autumn-budget-2024-html
Q4b - Does the the SG have any contingency plan to take forward the study in the absence of UKG funding?
Please refer to the answer given for Question 4a.
Q4c - Does the SG have any contingency plans to upgrade the A75 and complete the two remaining bypasses at Crocketford and Springholm in the absence of UKG funding?
The Scottish Government’s Second Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR2), published in December 2022, informs transport investment in Scotland for the next 20 years. Recommendation 40 of STPR2 highlights the need for safety, resilience, and reliability improvements on both the A77 and
A75. This would include, but is not limited to, enhancing overtaking opportunities, widening, or realigning carriageways, for example, bypassing the villages of Crocketford and Springholm. Further details regarding STPR2 can be found on the Transport Scotland website using the following link:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/strategy/strategic-transport-projects-review-2/
Q5a - We request ATC speed data gathered from along main street, Springholm by the embedded loop detectors during the past year. Please supply in the same format as before.
Please see Annexes A - M to this response for a copy of the raw ATC speed data which was gathered from along Main Street, Springholm, by the embedded loop detectors which we hope is helpful.
Please find below a key to the site location/directional information presented in the data.
SH1 – West Gateway, 50m East of Barr of Spottes Road, adjacent to eastbound VAS
SH2 – Centre of Village at bus stop
SH3 – Beech House
SH4 – East Gateway. Adjacent to Westbound VAS for signals
Channel 1 – Eastbound
Channel 2 - Westbound
To clarify, in the Average Speed by Class by Day by Week, the average per day calculated includes the unclassified vehicles.
Please note there is data that is unavailable as follows:
SH1 – 4 Lanes –
- No data from w/c 11/12/23 to w/c 22/01/24 – Traffic counter/Battery issue
- Lane 3 loop fault from w/c 05/02/24 to w/c 29/04/24
SH2 – 2 Lanes –
- No data from 17/06/24 to w/c 25/11/24 – Traffic Counter/Battery fault
SH3 – 2 Lanes –
- No data from w/c 18/12/23 to w/c 22/07/24 – Traffic Counter/Battery fault
SH4 – 4 Lanes –
- No data for 2/c 11/12/23 and w/c 18/12/23 - Traffic Counter/Battery fault
Q5b - We request speeding red signal activation and non-compliance data for the same period for both directions at the two sets of signals.
Please see Annexes N - Q for a copy of the data requested.
Where there is no data shown i.e ‘0’ or ‘#DIV/0!’ in the tables, this is due to a fault.
Q6a - When this street is designated 20mph will the halt signals trigger speed be reset 10mph lower?
The decision as to whether a 20mph limit will be introduced in Springholm has yet to be made. Consideration of the status of the reverse speed discrimination signals will be undertaken at the same time.
Q6b. Has consideration been given to employing the same system at main street, Crocketford in the light of its accident history and to facilitate speed compliance in anticipation of the introduction of a 20mph limit in 2025?
With reference to the response to Q3a as set out above, no decision has yet been made with respect to whether a 20mph speed limit is appropriate for the A75 though Crocketford. There is no plans to employ the same system in Crocketford.
Q6c - Has any reconsideration been given to the introduction of hard engineered gateways at Springholm to facilitate speed compliance in anticipation of the introduction of a 20mph limit in 2025? We have been pleading for these to no avail for many years. At the moment 85th
percentile speeds are over 40mph at the frontage of Woodside Cottage per past official data gathered there. Such potentially lethal speeds within a village warrant a dramatic driver behavior improvement a speed limit reduction alone cannot hope to secure.
Proposed 20mph limits are being introduced initially under a temporary 18 month long speed limit order with signage only. During the 18 month period the effectiveness of the reduced speed limit is being monitored and an assessment made as to whether further measures will be needed to encourage speed compliance.
Q6d - Would both villages have extended speed restricted 40mph buffer zones to facilitate driver speed adjustment before entering the built up communities and passing beside adjacent pavements?
A decision on the 20mph limit and specific details for these two villages have yet to be finalised.
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The Scottish Government
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