Nairn parents say bypass delays are exposing their children to the dangers of toxic air.
They fear their children are being forced to breathe in air polluted by heavy traffic as they make their way to and from school — and even once inside the classroom.
Mum-of-two Jo Sawyer worries there’s no escaping the tiny particles of black carbon because the windows of Rosebank Primary School open to the A96 road that carries all traffic north and south.
She says it’s horrible to think the children could be breathing dirty air even inside the school, which sits at the road’s edge.
“It really worries me,” says Jo. “We desperately need a bypass, it should have been done years ago.”
Town gridlocked without Nairn bypass
1st Steps childcare centre manager Roslin Murdoch says traffic is worsened by road works, but a bypass is the only solution.
She said: “We see it every morning, when we take the kids to school.
“Traffic is sitting stagnant, a big run of cars and heavy lorries. That’s definitely not a good thing when it’s trailing right past a primary school.
“Nairn needs a bypass right now.”
How exposed are the pupils?
Bushes and trees planted to shield the school from air pollution will take years to grow.
And there’s no let-up in traffic streaming past the school, parents say.
The Press and Journal did a count before 9am last week outside the school.
We counted 30 HGVs in 15 minutes queuing and passing the school gates at a snail’s pace.
Gas pipe-laying road works by SGN are reducing a section of A96 yards from the school to single file.
The works due to finish end of March are ahead of schedule but locals say they’re nonetheless compounding matters, forcing lorry drivers to sit idle in traffic that snakes past the school.
Council officers say an air monitoring device called an Earthsense Zephyr attached to a lamppost at St Ninian Road, roughly five minute’s walk from the school gates, is checking the levels of nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, and fine particles.
A council spokesman said: “None of the monitoring to date suggests that exceedances of the UK Air Quality objectives have occurred within Nairn.”
Road safety also an issue
To increase children’s safety, railings run along the pavement at the school gates.
Mrs Sawyer thinks these should be extended by to run along the edge of the pavement as far as possible along the edge of the A96.
She added: “You’ve probably got about 100 people or more going in either direction at 3pm coming out of the school, it’s a bottle-neck.
“But the railings there are at least a bit of a comfort blanket.
“They should go all the way up the road though because the kids are all on their bikes riding side by side, or walking with their big school bags close to the edge of the road.
“Cars are going flying past and it only takes one or two kids to be messing around for one of them to stumble off the pavement.”
She added: “What’s it going to take for the government to realise that this is a serious hazard? It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Will HGV drivers give Nairn wide berth at 9am and 3pm?
Mrs Sawyer, whose children attend the school, said HGV drivers should be asked to avoid passing through the town at school run times for the time being.
She said: “They should be told to stay away at school closing and opening times, better to let the Scottish Government deal with the anger from the roads lobby than risk our kids’ health.”
‘Trucks are much cleaner than many people might think’ says haulage association
Road Haulage Association area manager Sharon Cumming said: “The A96 is a key route for moving people and goods between Inverness and Aberdeen so it’s frustrating when roadworks add unwanted time to people’s journeys.
“This is no difference for truckers who are under pressure to get the goods we want to their destinations as quickly as possible.”
She added: “Trucks are much cleaner than many people might think; the vast majority of lorries in this country are Euro VI engine standard which emit far less damaging nitrogen oxides than older models.”
Transport Minister says she recognises the ‘strength of feeling’ in Nairn community
Scotland’s Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth visited the school last year, where she listened to concerns about air quality from pupils.
Today, she said:Â “I very much recognise the strength of feeling in the local community on the A96, particularly on issues connected with Rosebank Primary.
“I will ask officials in the government’s transport agency Transport Scotland to engage with the Road Haulage Association on this topic.”
What’s delaying Nairn bypass?
The SNP promised in 2011 to dual the entire A96 from Aberdeen to Inverness.
The pledge has been in doubt since First Minister Nicola Sturgeon struck a power-sharing deal with the Greens in 2021, leading to a review of the £3 billion project.
The 18-mile Inverness to Nairn section is unaffected by the review after being safeguarded by the government as part of the agreement.
Proposed bypasses for Nairn, Keith, Elgin and Inverurie were also all supposed to be protected.
The Scottish Government is moving forward with the next phase of its review, which will include an appraisal of the 16 retained options, including a climate compatibility assessment, with outcomes expected to be announced in the first half of this year.
Conversation