Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Academy Street: Inverness’ Crown residents welcome study on how traffic could impact their area

People are against the city centre plan if it leads to more cars in their community.

Academy Street bollards
The bollards on both sides of Inverness Academy Street will be removed. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

A move to test the impact of a controversial plan for Academy Street in Inverness on the Crown area of the city has been welcomed.

Highland Council wants to cut congestion in the city centre and make it more welcoming for walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users.

The plans include banning through traffic in Academy Street.

It has led to fears of more cars being diverted into other parts of the city like Crown.

Crown traffic to be analysed

Last week the council published a report by consultants WSP on the potential traffic and economic impacts.

It showed Harbour Road and Millburn roundabouts could come under more pressure.

A separate analysis will be done in Crown to identify potential hotspots, including near the primary school.

Crown residents and Inverness bicycle mayor Emily Williams said: “I am really pleased to see that the council has commissioned WSP to do a detailed assessment of traffic in the Crown area.

“I look forward to seeing the results of this.

“Access to the school is already tricky, with narrow pavements on the approach and no effective access for pupils who wish to cycle.”

Emily Williams welcomes the new analysis of Crown traffic

Community charity Crown Connects surveyed people who live in the area and the city centre.

Among the 82 people who responded, more than 70% of Crown residents were positive or very positive about the Academy Street measures if traffic decreases in their area.

Around 60% were positive or very positive if traffic stays the same.

But more than 70% were negative or very negative towards the plans if they increase traffic in Crown.

Many people backed the aim to make the city centre more welcoming for pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users.

This includes support for reducing traffic, improving air quality and creating a European-style café culture.

Fears about more congestion

But there were concerns about the potential displacement of traffic into the predominantly residential Crown area.

Respondents were worried about increased congestion, safety risks for children, deteriorating air quality and the impact on quality of life.

Ms Williams said many people want measures like speed bumps and more regular enforcement of the 20mph speed limit in the area.

“Many of the responses called for safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists to the school.

“And there were suggestions such as creating one way systems and modal filters to manage traffic flow and reduce rat-running on residential streets.”

Some people fear increased traffic in the Crown’s narrow streets

Several responses criticised the planning and presentation of the project.

Mixed opinions were expressed about the impact on local businesses.

Some people feared reduced vehicle access could harm businesses due to lower customer traffic.

Others said a more pleasant city centre could attract more visitors and boost the economy.

In March, Crown and City Centre Community Council started a petition against the Academy Street plans, saying it could lead to their area becoming a ‘rat run’.

Chair Fiona MacBeath said its concerns are for the safety and health of residents and preservation of our neighbourhood.

She said a marked increase of traffic to other areas will have a negative impact on this.

‘A great opportunity to attract investment’

Meanwhile, Ms Williams welcomed the traffic and economic impacts reports.

While it was said the value-for-money of the scheme is “poor”, it was felt it could generate £1.5m-4m from increased footfall.

Ms Williams said: “It has been shown in many places that creating an attractive and vibrant streetscape increases property values, income from business rates and a reduction in crime.”

She said the scheme presents a great opportunity to attract investment to the city centre and benefit businesses.

The scheme aims to shift the focus in Academy Street from driving to walking, cycling and wheeling

She said proposed wider pavements and improvements to pedestrian crossings will make the city centre easier to navigate.

“Of course, it will still be possible for anyone who needs to access the town centre by car.

“They may just have to choose a different route to get there.”

Many city centre businesses oppose the plans. They argue they would harm trade and lead to customers being lost to out-of-town shops.

Conversation