MSP Brian Whittle has pledged to lead the charge for more action to improve the A77 throughout Ayrshire. The South Scotland MSP has placed a motion in parliament recognising the massive contribution the road makes to Scotland’s economy and is calling on all his fellow MSPs representing Ayrshire to sign up with the aim of holding a Members Business debate in the Scottish Parliament.
It comes as the A77 Action Group bring a petition forward to the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee urging the Scottish Government to consider upgrading the route between Ayr’s Whitletts Roundabout and the Cairnryan ferry port to the South and making the route fully dual carriageway.
Brian Whittle MSP, who sits on the Parliament’s Petitions Committee and encouraged the A77 Action Group to submit their petition, believes trunk road investment in South Scotland needs to be given greater priority. The MSP is also supporting a campaign to dual the A75, which runs East to West between the ferry ports at Cairnryan, across to Dumfries and the A74, one of the main routes into England.
The MSP has welcomed the recent announcement that the contract to build the new Maybole by-pass has gone out to tender but has expressed disappointment that the planned bypass won’t be fully dual carriageway and doesn’t appear to have given any consideration to supporting cycling or facilities for electric car charging; something the Scottish Government have just announced will be included in their improvements to the A9.
Commenting Brian Whittle MSP said:
“The A77 Action Group’s visit to the Petitions Committee is another demonstration that anyone who uses this road regularly understands it’s in need of serious improvement. The plans for the Ayrshire Growth Deal are bringing the value of good transport connectivity into focus and we need to think about the long term future of the A77. I’m delighted to see progress finally being made on a Maybole bypass but I can’t understand why Transport Scotland have chosen not to do a bit of futureproofing and make it fully dual carriageway.
The ferry port at Cairnryan is responsible for a huge amount of economic activity but the local road network is a real weak spot when it comes to considering expansion. At the Bellfield interchange, the volume of traffic at busy times can cause queues down slip roads and onto the main carriageway; surely there are ways to address this?
We need to ensure that the A77 isn’t just able to deal with today’s traffic, but tomorrows as well. I’m concerned that South West Scotland has become the poor relation when it comes to investment in roads and it’s something I’m determined to address.”
