Comment posted on A83 to stay closed for now by Stephen Mackenzie
I remember the arrogance with which, say, the Skye Bridge and its toll arrangements were imposed on Scotland. Things have certainly changed.
Recent comments by Stephen Mackenzie
- A83 closed due to another landslide – now reopened
This is true; it was initially shown as a slip on Loch Fyne side just north of Inveraray.I note that TS are yet to master the spelling of the word “Arrochar”.
- A83 closed due to another landslide – now reopened
That photo looks like the slip is in a different place from normal. Can anyone confirm that? - A83: Is there a planning issue in Transport Scotland’s intent to revise the old military road below Rest and Be Thankful?
Is there a source for this story about naming the Rest? I was under the impression the naming was older than the era of the motor car…I once walked up the remains of the old road from Butterbridge, and it occurred to me that it would be a very worthwhile part of a long distance route/cycle route into Argyll.
- Transport Minister tells McGrigor A83 emergency route ready in November
Go for a walk… all you will hear in Glen Croe is traffic noise. And don’t forget it’s full of forestry. So it’s hardly unspoiled. So an appropriately designed road gallery would on the whole, be a benefit. I remain convinced that the best long term plan is to divert the trunk road away from that glen and that hill, though. - 10 Downing Street to fly Saltire with Union Flag tomorrow for Andy Murray
It’s to do with the authentication system that WordPress uses. Irritatingly, it uses the name of your blog as your ID. Thus, if I was ever logged into my increasingly defunct WordPress blog, I would be identified here as otan2.
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Pingback: Argyll News: Today’s travel updates | For Argyll
‘They can detect movement but of course they cannot stop it’
This is exactly why this route has to be upgraded to cope with movement, and until this is done the government is likely to be seen as increasingly useless.
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I see that ForArgyll is saying that the rest will be closed until tomorrow but the Transport Scotland site just says it will be closed “Foreseeable future. Further information will be posted as it becomes available”, which bears out my point in a previous post! Where do you get your information from? Regardless of any plans to resolve the problems at the Rest just being able to access up to date information from the official source would make my life easier!
The same thing applied during the recent power outages. The information provided by the power companies was woeful and what information they did provide was inaccurate or out of date. I would have been happy to have been told that the power would probably be off for 5 days – at least we could have planned ahead rather than simply sitting around waiting!
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The sole responsibility for the repeated closures of this road lies with the SNP Government.
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No, Simon, the ‘sole responsibility’ lies with a whole succession of administrations stretching back to the colonial days before the Holyrood government – landslips and rockfalls are nothing new on this road.
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“the colonial days before the Holyrood government”
I, and I should think most proud Scots, find it deeply insulting that you, Robert, should imply that our country was ever a colony (of England I presume?).
The implications of calling Scotland a colony besmearches the honour of our ancestors.
I was born and brought up in a British colony in The West Indies, of an old Scottish plantation family. I know exactly what a colony is. Scotland was never a colony.
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W.S.: I appreciate and understand your horror, but the fact is that – pre-Holyrood – Scotland was latterly governed by one person who from recollection was responsible for the full range of central government ministerial functions save foreign policy and defence. There seemed to me to be a distinct whiff of colonialism about that arrangement.
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I remember the arrogance with which, say, the Skye Bridge and its toll arrangements were imposed on Scotland. Things have certainly changed.
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Blah blah blah Robert. How long have the SNP had to fix this? How many landslips on their watch?
They bailed out Edinburgh trams qucik enough – building a new Forth crossing…… zilch for Argyll in comparison
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The trouble is, Simon, there’s obviously no really rapid ‘fix’; it does seem that work has started on developing a realistic strategy to fix it, and what should be a mystery is why it wasn’t initiated at least a decade ago.
But it’s not a mystery, given the astonishing neglect of the nearby A82 between Tarbet and Ardlui, and I can remember just how bad the traffic problems were allowed to get before the same road was rebuilt from the Vale of Leven up to Tarbet. There seems to be a British cultural mindset that puts infrastructure on the back burner, especially in an area that many national politicians might have perceived as irrelevant to their greater glory and prosperity. Don’t start me on Edinburgh trams – a very worthwhile project that would have been straightforward elsewhere in Europe but somehow got utterly mishandled in Scotland.
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PS Robert. Any idea why the SNP deserted their Leader on the Council and voted with Trick Dicky??
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Every time that mild south westerly winds are forecast there is likely to be the potential for landslides on the Rest and be Thankful.
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It could get to the stage (if it hasn’t already) that the BBC 5-day weather forecast becomes essental reading to assess whether the road to Glasgow is likely to be usable or not.
It’s one thing for ferries to be regularly disrupted by bad weather, but for this road to suffer likewise would be intolerable.
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Robert, as my teacher would have said – next time try answering the question…..
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The trouble is Simon, you’re not my teacher, the council’s got little or nothing to do with the landslide problems at the Rest, and regarding the way councillors voted on something I know no more than you and so can offer no enlightenment. You could try asking your teacher.
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Thanks Robert. So after all your huff and puff – you’ve nothing to offer.
Fact remains though – the sole responsibility for the ongoing debacles at the Rest – lies solely with this SNP Government.
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Correction, Simon, ‘rests with the inaction of successive governments’ – not like you to let anyone off the hook, is it? And if you want to conflate this problem with other issues, perhaps we’ll eventually be subjected to the ‘final solution’ of you rolling all your various concerns into one huge rambling question to be addressed to all and sundry on whatever threads come to hand irrespective of relevance? – you could get an endless series of non-answers to make hay with.
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Robert. Whatever.
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How does Simon manage to come across as one of those people you meet in the pub who is just looking for an argument? About anything! We’ve all met them. Usually you just drink up and go somewhere else to get away from them. Next day you hear that somebody punched his lights out.
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What a load of pointless political hot air. I have yet to see any political hot air which isn’t pointless mark you. It rained violently. The problematic mountain shifted again. Nobody’s fault – in fact, really bad luck considering the stabilisation job was pretty good. It is a real problem but they are looking at permanent solutions. Good. End of.
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What stabilisation job? – look at the photos on their website.
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The BBC 5 Day weather forecast is not always accurate. It did not forecast the storms on 3rd January 2012 until the last minute. The best forecast to use is magicseaweed.com with has seperate charts for wind and pressure for the next 180 hours ( seven and a half days).
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